


Sonic Glitch Rift

by rontufox



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, Classic Sonic Universe, Friendship, Gen, takes place immediately after Sonic 3 & Knuckles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2020-01-25 03:13:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 84,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18563680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rontufox/pseuds/rontufox
Summary: With the Death Egg destroyed, and the Master Emerald back in its rightful place, Sonic leaves the fabled Angel Island behind to return to life as usual on South Island. But when strange anomalies start popping up in the zones, Sonic is caught in the action!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story follows classic game canon and takes place immediately after Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
> 
> Each chapter has endnotes linking to pics/vids of zones and objects referenced in the chapter. The classic games were less known when I first started writing this, so I wanted to give the reader enough context. But with the release of games like Sonic Generations and Sonic Mania, a LOT more fans'll know about the settings in my story! That's so cool to me!!
> 
> Keep in mind that at this point in the canon, some characters haven’t known each other long and are developing their relationships. Especially keep this in mind for Knuckles.
> 
> Just a note for me--started thinking of this story in 2011, started actually writing September 2015, completed April 2019.

The sun gleamed bright, down upon the waves, along the coast of Emerald Hill Zone. Sonic stood there on the sand beside his plane, the Tornado, shading his eyes and looking out towards the southeast. Behind him lay the shimmering green hillsides of West Side Island. He took in a huge breath and thrust his arms out to his sides.

“Right!”

He grabbed the plane propeller and spun it to full velocity. Then, snapping goggles on, he zipped right into the cockpit.

“Sonic!” a tiny voice shouted through the noise.

Sonic turned and spotted Tails flying towards him. “Yo Tails~!”

The little fox landed in the sand and climbed onto the biplane's wing, “Do you really have to go?”

“Yup! Can’t stay forever. I got my South Island to check on.”

“...I wrote this for you,” Tails said, holding out an envelope earnestly.

Sonic paused, then lifted his goggles to take it.

“I think you’re cool Sonic!!!!” the little fox blurted, tears globbing up in his eyes. “...and I’m gonna miss you…”

“Hey hey, you’re amazing too, little buddy! Couldn’t’ve taken out that dumb ol’ Death Egg without ya!”

“Really...?”

“Well yeah! Don’t tell me you forgot!”

Tails smiled, then Sonic took the envelope.

“And I’ll be back,” Sonic winked. “You got your island too. Take care of it.”

The little fox nodded and hopped into flight. “I’ll try, Sonic!”

Sonic held out his palm. Tails smacked a high five, then gleefully flipped in the air.

“Watch where you’re going!” Sonic laughed, though Tails kept a safe distance from the propeller. Sonic pulled the goggles back on. “Just remember. You figured out that flying stuff all on your own, just by tryina be you. Don’t you forget that too, bud.”

Tails just beamed the biggest smile. Not a few seconds later, the Tornado was off the ground, heading towards the sky with white smoke trailing behind.

“Byyyyyye Taaaaaaaails!” Sonic hollered as loud as he could. But already the island seemed incredibly small. He watched it recede into the distance, and took a last few moments to admire all the zones he and Tails explored together. Then, he eagerly looked out, forward, towards his South Island.

 

Sonic wasted no time. After saying hello to his small animal friends, he took off into Green Hill Zone. “I’ll tell you guys everything when I get back!” he shouted back to them as he left. They were excited to hear what great adventure their resident hero had gone on, and what he found beyond South Island.

But Sonic, having rescued two islands in a row from Eggman’s scheming, wanted to make sure nothing was amiss here. More than that, he wanted to spend time alone in his favorite zones. A thing he used to do quite often, before the world became much, much bigger.

Zone after zone, colors whizzed and whirled by. All seemed well. And when he finally stopped, the calming melody of Starlight Zone rolled in around him. He stood, listening. And gazing out at the night sky.

“Good ol’ Starlight...”

He took right off into a loop. At the peak he seared down with everything he had. The momentum hurled him effortlessly up the next loop--and just as he liked it, bright street lights streaked against the night sky. But, for a split second, the end of the loop focused in his line of sight. The roadway ahead was collapsed. Mangled slabs of metal formed a steep, ramp-like shape.

“WAAAAH!”

He skidded off the ramp, flicked straight into the air, then dropped off the side of the highway. He fell a few feet before catching the ledge of a small floating platform. Flipping up, he took a seat neatly atop it, and shaded his eyes to peer up at the damaged road.

He whistled. “Something sure did a number on this! And--OOF!” he was smacked in the back of the head by something small. He turned, rubbing where he was hit, “Hey what in the-”

He jolted at the sight of a huge spikeball, careening right in his direction. He scrambled into a spinball and shot off the platform, seconds before the spikeball crashed into it. He slid narrowly into a nook in a wall. From this vantage point, he watched the spikeball crash through the highway, crushing it further upon itself. It then boomeranged back on a huge arcing curve. Sonic nodded, realizing the circular trajectory.

“A spikeball’s on the fritz, huh!” He shrugged playfully, “Do I ever get a break? Better fix up this mess-” a spark of light. Sonic caught it from the corner of his eye. The fuse of a bomb bot detonated an explosion.

Sonic was flung out by fire and smoke, and not so graceful this time, slammed face-first into a wall. Then he slid down, down, down. Sensing nothing beneath his feet, he reached out and grabbed hold of the first thing his fingers caught.

Precariously high, Sonic was dangling from scaffolding protruding from the bottom of the wall. There was no safety below. Only the black, bottomless pit of Starlight Zone. But he seemed more concerned about his hurt nose. He rubbed it sorely with his free hand.

From between his fingers, he noticed movement in the distance. He peered down and spotted a few feet below him, someone on a bridge. The person was carrying a bindle. And looked to be bending a twisted light pole back into a straight line. Sonic chuckled as they made a frame with their hands to check their work.

“YOOO~ Mighty!” Sonic called down.

Mighty turned, but Sonic was already there, spinning round him in a ball. He beamed with delight, “Mr. Hedgehog!”

Sonic posed and winked, “None other~ So! It’s YOU been causing all this mess!”

Mighty looked back with panicked eyes.

“Nah nah, just kiddin! Better watch it though, it is kinda dangerous here right now.”

Mighty let out a breath of relief and smiled, about to speak, until he noticed Sonic pause and perk up. Mighty’s ears too caught something. The two of them looked in the same direction. They heard a crash before it came into sight--the rogue spikeball heading right where they stood.

“Heads uuup!” Sonic announced cheerfully. He grabbed hold of Mighty’s arm and streaked into a run--except, he didn’t. He slipped and slammed to the ground, as if trying to whisk away a two ton brick. His head spun, and without warning, he was lifted from the ground.

“Woah woah?!”

“Sorry!”

Mighty threw him into the air. The dark surroundings of Starlight Zone turned to blinding light. Sonic was flying through a white space that flashed with glimmering, geometric colors. He realized he was no longer in Starlight Zone at all.

“Hey!” his voice echoed. “A zone hop!”

He marveled at the sight, for only a moment, before the space closed in. Out he emerged from a circular portal, skidding smooth and cool into a completely different zone. A brief shower of debri followed, along with Mighty, who plowed straight to the ground in a tight ball. And stayed that way.

Sonic hurried over to him and waited with excitement. After three whole seconds, he knocked on his shell.

Mighty, realizing he was fine, got to his feet and brushed bits of concrete off his back. “Hoh… sorry bout tha-”

Sonic interrupted, “COOOOL!! Did that just happen?! Didja know that zone hop was there?”

“Oh! So you already know abou-”

Sonic darted away and pretended to throw, “You just CHUCKED me straight through!”

“S-sorry about that, yes. You see, I took this special tunnel to enter Starlight.”

“Woooooah lucky~” Sonic came back over and inspected the bright portal floating in the air above them. “These’re hard to find! Tails and me ran into a couple before. I was like ‘Whaaat!’ Cuz they connect two totally different zones, you know? You’re one place, then suddenly someplace else! There was one on West Side Island, and then on Angel Isla-UH!” He froze, realizing what he just said. Knuckles had demanded he keep Angel Island secret.

Mighty scratched his own cheek, “Sorry now. Once more?”

“Oh, Tails! Yeah. Yeah, I met him on this place called West Side Island. He tagged along with me on--zones. And uhhh...” He looked around for a way to change the subject, but in the process, finally realized the surroundings. “...no. WAY. Hey, I’ve. I never been here before!”

It was a zone of many many greens and purples. Colorful blocks with hollowed out middles sat stacked upon each other to create a honeycomb-like landscape. The ground was overrun with thick, bouncy moss, and all kinds of flowers grew in abundance. Trees with huge, flat, pancake-like leaves created a mottled ceiling of foliage. Waterfalls, hanging moss, high purple pathways overlooking it all, Sonic was agape.

“...Where are we??”

“Haven’t the foggiest idea!” Mighty answered. Taking a few admiring looks around himself, he continued. “Very beautiful place. Isn’t it? There’s a nice waterfall a mile or so down. That direction,” he pointed. “I spent most of my time there yesterday.”

“So cooooool!” Sonic looked out upon the jumbled pathways set before him, not really paying attention to what he said.

Mighty just smiled. Then laughed, “I’m glad you aren’t angry.”

“Huh?”

“About my throwing you.”

“Naaah, no way! Hey, how you been anyway, Mighty my man?” he asked with a clap to Mighty’s shoulder.

“Never better!” Mighty reached forward, and squeezed Sonic in a huge hug. “Calamity has a way of bringing us together, doesn’t it! Wonderful to see you again.”

Sonic flinched from the crushing grip, then laughed as Mighty released him. “Ditto bud! OH! Love to chit-chat but I gotta decommission that spikeball pronto!” He kicked aside pieces of concrete and metal from beneath the portal for a good jumping-off point.

“I-I’d be cautious of that warp tunnel. Or, zone hop, you said?”

“Why, what?”

“Well,” Mighty began gathering the debri into his arms, “I’m only afraid that bridge we were standing on may be gone, if the damage was this great. There may be no place to land if you go back that way.”

Sonic tilted his head thoughtfully. “...Hey! Just gimmie a boost! Like this, woop! with your super strength send me flying to somma the other buildings that were by the bridge!”

“I’m not sure you should trust me with that,” Mighty answered, setting the debri down into a pile.

“It’ll be fine!’

Mighty laughed and held up his bindle, “Let’s try using this instead.”

Sonic just looked at him blankly in response.

 

With the evening surroundings of Starlight Zone around him, Sonic stood perched on the end of Mighty’s bindle. Though the stick appeared to be floating midair, it actually extended down into the portal connecting Starlight to the other zone. Mighty supported Sonic’s weight there, on the other side.

After a minute of waiting, Mighty counted, “One, two-” and pulled the bindle back down through the portal, and to the ground. Sonic only stood, looking dazed.

“...Did it look alright?” Mighty asked.

“Yeeeah, that bridge is ANNIHILATED. Go back through there and I'm in for a bottomless pit!” Sonic rubbed his chin a few times. “And I don’t think you can throw me at the right angle to get me to reach the other buildings." He shrugged. "Guess I’ll go back by foot! Catcha later~!”

“M-Mr. Hedgehog,”

But Sonic had already revved up and zipped into the distance, little stars trailing in his wake. Mighty sighed, half amused, half concerned. Turning his attention to the Starlight debri, he crushed it into a single hunk of concrete and metal. This he tossed cheerfully up through the portal. Then, he went on his way.

 

“Bad baaaad, Knucklehead’d knock my lights out for sure if he heard me blab back there,” Sonic groaned as he ran. “...Oh well. Like he’ll ever know. And look at this place!!”

He jumped and smacked the funny, pancake-shaped leaves. Water drops slapped his face when he did. He laughed, then whisked off a small waterfall, speeding along the river it created, sending out wings of water behind him. Quickly he discovered there were many of these, creating paths all their own, so he doubled down, streaked through, and used the waterways to traverse the thick forest more directly. He did have somewhere to be, afterall.

“Wonder what’s up with Starlight anyway,” he remarked to himself. “Zones shift and stuff yeah, but that spikeball… Weird…” Sonic blinked, and noticed the foliage abruptly clear around him. In front of him lay just sky. And water. That’s when he realized, he was running across the surface of the ocean.

“EEEEEEEE!!!”

Instinctively he put on the brakes. The water tension could no longer support the sudden decrease in speed, and he slipped backwards into the water without a splash.

He sank down slowly. It took a few seconds for Sonic to accept what had just happened. But he was grateful to see the sandy floor wasn’t far. The moment his feet touched the ground, he charged into a spinball back towards shore.

He bursted from the water and landed, a little shaken.

“Whoo! Hit a shoreline...”

Shaking the water from his spines, he zipped off once again. Very quickly another coast thwarted his path. One lined with steep cliffs that dropped down to the water. A bit miffed, he changed course again. The colors of the surrounding blocks shifted to earthy browns and oranges. The moseying melody rose to one that was cheerier, faster-paced. He had left the forest and was now running across a mild grassland.

That’s when it occurred to Sonic--he may no longer be on South Island. The land, the music. None of it was familiar. He wondered if the portal from before had actually led him to a completely different island.

And now, with the trees gone from view, Sonic could see far into the distance.

Ocean. All around.

He halted and looked forward with a furrowed brow.

 

The sky was turning pink. The setting sun glinted off the surface a crystal clear pond. It was fed by a calm waterfall tumbling down, down over progressive tiers of rock. The constant flow kept the pond perpetually spilling over another drop in the rocks, on the opposite end. Mighty was wading in the middle of it, contentedly searching the bottom for pebbles.

“MIGHTY!” a voice hollered from above. Sonic sped past, but then immediately reappeared, looking down from the top of the rocks, “THERE you are!”

Mighty shrugged sheepishly, “...I am here.”

“This place is its own island??”

“Oh, is it?” Mighty answered happily.

“You didn’t know??”

Mighty blinked a few times.

“I ran round the entire coast of this place,” Sonic said, hopping down to where Mighty was. “All water, it’s all surrounded by water.”

Mighty nodded once slowly, then headed back towards dry land, thinking.

“Mighty, I--am really not getting this. I was thinking we were still on South Island. Like this was a new beta zone or something. But if it's not South Island, how’d you end up here in the first place?? On some weird new island??”

“Sorry about that. I’ll explain, or--let me show you.” Mighty picked up his bindle. But then, he held up his finger with an idea. “...I had a thought. Neither of us know much of this island. I wonder, if we may learn a lot, by seeing this place from high up. Before it gets much darker?”

“That’s another thing!” Sonic butted in as he zipped to Mighty’s other side. “What’s a day zone doing turning night like this!”

“It’s peculiar,” Mighty agreed.

“Right! Then let’s gOoo~!” Sonic announced, offering a hand for his friend.

 

Of course, for Sonic it didn’t take long to locate a high ridge to scale. And scale he did, in no time at all. To Mighty the trip was all a blur, until they screeched to a stop at the highest point, “See! We ARE on an island! A totally new island!”

Mighty wobbled, almost too woozy to see, “S-so we are.”

“It’s so tiny!” Sonic admired, darting to all different sides of the peak. “You think we’re the first to find this place?? Look Mighty! You gotta look this side!”

From the high overlook, they realized the entire island was tilted diagonally. The cliffed coastlines Sonic had traversed earlier weren’t cliffs at all, but higher, exposed sides of the island. On the opposite side, the island drove right into the ocean, submerged.

“Goodness sakes…” Mighty murmured.

“Like it’s sinking! or something?”

Mighty leaned on a block and peered over. Sonic hopped onto it to get the same view.

“This side,” Mighty gestured. “Does it look much darker than the rest of the island?”

“Yeah actually.”

Mighty laughed a little with amazement.

“Like it’s all damp?" Sonic observed. "This thing’s rising up OUT of the ocean?”

“It may just be, Mr. Hedgehog.”

The two stood staring out with wonder at this extraordinary phenomenon. By now the sky was a muted purple and dimming quickly.

“Too bad I gotta leave right away,” Sonic sighed. “This place is so cooool… Hey wait. Yeah wait. How am I even gonna get offa this place? And hey, how did YOU get here? You still didn’t say!”

Mighty laughed. Then pausing, he shrugged. “Another tunnel.”

“A tunnel?”

“A warp tunnel. Well--oh, a hop? You call them zone hops?”

Sonic leapt from one block to another, “Yeah cuz you HOP right into another zone!”

Mighty tried not to look like he had a heart attack from the stunt. “I-I like that. Think I’ll call them that myself! You see, I hopped from a different island to this one. And then from this one, to Starlight Zone, on your island. I could guide you back the way I used. ...Though,” he paused. “I’m afraid there’s not enough light left. Three times now I’ve seen this zone turn to night. Never seen anything like it, in all my days.”

“Hey, Starlight’s sturdy, it’ll hold up!” Sonic affirmed while smacking a fist into his hand. “I just don’t want that spikeball flying round forever, hurt someone, y’know?”

Mighty smiled, “I’m relieved then! At first light, let’s start off.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading the first chapter of my story! I'm so glad you did! If you're interested in what comes next, chapter 2 will be released next Friday!
> 
> My end notes exceed AO3's character limit since they've got a ton of links to images/vids. The urls take up a lot of characters.  
> Which... I didn't anticipate. So instead please check out my cool chapter notes through the link below! 
> 
> [Chapter 1 Notes](https://drive.google.com/open?id=1zcOqFaZl5EH1Q9CkR0ZzCqVvc3ShpMUETcPd9v0NYUM)  
> (Just press back to return to this page)
> 
> The chapter notes will be lengthy for the first few chapters since they explain elements of the classic Sonic world. They get much shorter as we progress through the story!


	2. Chapter 2

It was dim and stuffy. A small space. The smell of damp moss saturated the log that Tails sat inside, alone. His quiet sobs caught the attention of a small penguin swimming in a pond nearby. She followed the sound, pushing her way through thickets of leaves and berries until she reached him.

“...Tails?” she peered in hesitantly. “Oh why are you crying?”

The little fox sat up straight, “H-huh, Pecky?”

“What happened?”

He sniffed. Rubbed one of his eyes. “...Sonic left.”

Pecky tried to think of what to say. But hollow thuds on top of the log prompted both of them to look up.

“Oh! Hello, little penguin,” a bubbly voice greeted. “How do you do today!”

Pecky answered, “O-oh, I’m good.”

“Me too!” the voice said. “Do you know which way to Green Hill Zone?”

“Green Hill?” Pecky repeated. “Green Hill… I have no idea. Do you?”

Tails only sat, unaware a question had been directed towards him. After a few muffled thumps, a pink hedgehog peered in at him, upside-down, laughing, “Hey, whatcha doing in there!”

“Oh I’m uh! j-just! resting,” he stuttered.

“I need to rest too!”

The hedgehog hopped down and joined the startled fox inside.

“My name is Amy Rose!” she looked over at Pecky. “I’m eight!”

Tails perked up, “Hey… me too! I’m, I’m Miles Prower. But my friends call me Tails. This is Pecky.”

“Hi!” Amy beamed.

Tails was overjoyed she didn’t point out his tails after learning his nickname. “This is Aquatic Ruin Zone. That’s where we are right now.” He messed with one of his ears, “...I um… I don’t really know what Green Hill Zone is… but there’s Emerald Hill. Is that it? Or Hill Top?”

Amy shook her head, “I don’t think so… In my home, everyone says Green Hill. But no one here knows when I say it. I really wonder where I am. Maybe this is really really far away.”

“A different island?” Pecky guessed. “But no, how would that be possible...”

Amy exclaimed, “Cuz of a mean ol’ evil man!”

Tails gasped. “Is he Eggman?”

“YES. Don’t you hate him!” Amy balled up her little fists. “He tried to take over Little Planet! But he lost. That’s what he gets.” Crawling out of the log, she stood up and faced them, “But after, I saw him. He was building an airship. I knew he was up to something bad! So I snuck in.”

The other two stared aghast, “WHAT!”

She nodded. “When the ship landed, he was kidnapping little animals again. And building a horrible place. I hate him!” She swung her hammer, “So I BEAT UP as many animal capsules as I could.”

“W-wha??” Tails gaped. “What if he got you!”

“I couldn’t let bad happen to them!” she asserted. “But Eggman found out. I had to run away. Then I saw, everything was different. I keep asking, in every zone, but no one knows my home...”

Sadly, Tails just sat. Until. He was struck with an idea. “Hey... Amy!” Happily he crawled out of the log and hopped right in front of her. “This is my island! So, I’m gonna help anyone who needs it. I’ll help you find your home! O-or well, I’ll try. My very best I can.”

She hoisted him off the ground with a huge hug, “Oh Tails, thank you! Now I won’t be alone!”

“D’ow, hey…!” he giggled.

 

Through morning-lit scenery, Sonic and Mighty headed for their new destination--the portal that brought Mighty to this mysterious island. Sonic, as always, was raring to sprint them there. But at those speeds Mighty admitted he would be unable to lead the way. So they walked.

To occupy himself, Sonic periodically veered off-course to explore challenging obstacles--loops, curving walls, bridges, disappearing platforms, and, to Mighty’s distress, spike pits. But this quickly grew dull. Sonic still had to endure the same footpace. So he would run, way into the distance to guess the right direction, or zip around in a spinball, or run circles around his friend--really any silly thing that came to mind. Until eventually, so bored of boredom, he hitched a ride on Mighty’s bindle.

Just like the day before, the music shifted, and the pancake trees dwindled. For some minutes, Mighty hummed the cheery tune of the rolling grasslands. Sonic contemplated taking a nap. Until, he spotted a large hill. Palm trees and bushes lined the top. On the other side of these trees was a sheer drop down towards the ocean.

Mighty came to a stop at the bottom of the slope, “Here we are! Somewhere here.”

“Yo, I see it!” Sonic zipped from Mighty’s side, right up the hill.

“Sure enough!”

The portal stood about halfway up the slope. But Sonic bypassed it. He rushed next to a palm tree and grabbed hold of it to lean over the towering cliffs. A strong wind rushed past his body, and he welled up with excitement as ocean spray flecked over him.

“HaHAAA, Mighty-man come on, c’mon see this!”

“I’ll stay down here, preferably,” he called back.

“Whaaaat!”

“Be kind, Mr. Hedgehog. I took a tumble down this hill once already.”

Sonic let out a “pfft!” but quickly regained himself. “Yeah we can’t be gettin your shell scuffed up.” He cheerfully skidded down to the portal and thumbed at it, “So where’s it lead?”

“Maybe you know of it. A beta zone, a safe one, by a pretty lak-”

He was interrupted by a loud, rolling grumble beneath the earth. They both looked at the ground. Then back at each other.

“...Just a sec.” Sonic told him.

Mighty turned towards where he thought the sound originated--the opposite side of the island. Neither of them knew that the submerged side had finally broken free of the ocean’s weight. All at once their stomachs dropped. The ground lurched. Like a giant see-saw, the other side of the island in the distance rose up up up, and their side of the island dropped.

“WOAH!!”

The severe tilt sent Sonic tumbling backwards towards the cliff. He grabbed around for anything to slow his fall. At the ledge, he managed to catch onto a palm tree in the crook of his arm. But the island kept tilting. The ocean screamed up towards him. There was an unbelievable crashing noise. White water burst on all sides. He was plunged underwater.

Colossal roaring and swirling in all directions. Mighty had also been sent into the ocean. He felt himself pushed and pulled through the water. Fearfully he let a few moments pass, for the turbulence die down. Then he began the swim up.

When he surfaced, all was silent. Except the soft patter of waterdrops hitting the ocean.

“Sonic! Mr. Hedgehog?” he looked all around.

A sploosh. His bindle surfaced beside him. He took it into his hand slowly.

As he looked past the bindle and down into the water, Mighty realized that the ground they had been standing on was now deeply submerged.

“Sonic?!”

Mighty took in a large breath and dived down.

Sonic had no choice but to cling blindly to the palm tree during the chaotic surge through the water. Now the momentum lulled. The island’s buoyancy, he knew, was balancing out. This side would soon rush back up. He peeked up with one eye to see how far away the surface was. But his view was blocked, by Mighty, swimming towards him. Once within reach, Mighty offered down the other end of his bindle. Sonic grabbed hold with a grateful thumbs up.

The island made a slow movement upwards. Sonic grabbed hold of the tree with his other hand and tried to alert his friend to hunker down. But the acceleration swelled. They were both crammed harshly to the ground as it forced its way back up.

With a crash, their half of the island rushed out from the ocean’s surface. Sonic held on to the tree, grateful for air, and afraid to be tossed off. As the upward tilt increased, so did Mighty’s weight on the other end of the bindle. Mighty was losing his footing.

“Sonic…!”

Quickly Sonic positioned himself so his chest was forced against the tree. He clutched the bindle with both hands, “I gotcha!!”

As the tilt reached its peak, water scooped up by the island cascaded down, pelting against them.

“We gotta get outta here!!” Sonic shouted through the noise.

Mighty looked up at him fearfully.

“Listen-” Sonic coughed. “The zone hop's right behind ya. Before the island falls again, I’m gonna just drop you in.”

Mighty looked down. The portal shined five feet below his dangling legs. But if he missed it, he’d fall the steep drop down the entire top of the tilted island. He held tighter to the bindle, “Sonic?! I can’t!”

“Don't worry!” Sonic winked. "You don't gotta do anything, just let yourself fall."

“A- alright… Alright, I-”

“Kay, here goes~ One, two-”

Mighty's eyes clamped shut, “I’m not ready! Alright alright just-”

“O-K! Don’t worry! Go ahead and curl up.”

Mighty complied immediately. Sonic nabbed him from the air, slid off the palm tree, and fell for the portal below.

White burst his vision. An exhilarating melody blared in his ears--Azure Lake Zone. But as they warped to this new location, Sonic saw no land appear beneath his feet. Only sky. They had emerged from the portal upside-down. And now, gravity was pushing them back. Back towards the portal that had been their escape.

Sonic scrambled to right himself. “Shoot shoot shoot!”

He managed to flip around and land, with one foot on either side of the portal. Nearly doing the splits. He remained frozen in that stance. Then, with a laugh, he stepped safely away.

“See? Easyyy~”

Mighty felt himself set onto the springy grass. His limbs thumped to the ground, and he laid there, soaked and traumatized. “...I thought I was through with the adventures... you certainly have a knack for them, Mr. Hedgehog.”

 

A few minutes of recovery, and Mighty was able to function again. Sonic snickered as he helped him to his feet. The ground was slippery from the ocean water that had poured in from the other side of the portal.

“Thank you,” Mighty sighed, visibly tired. “...I hope you can forgive the trouble I caused, Mr. Hedgehog. I’m the reason you were forced out of Starlight in the first place, aren’t I?”

“Pretty much!” Sonic shoved an enthusiastic punch to his shoulder.

Mighty looked taken aback by the incredible honesty.

“Gettin back’s the tricky part! Without my plane n all.”

Mighty paused in thought. Then, he looked hesitantly over at Sonic. “...Do you happen to know Ice Cap Zone?”

Sonic nodded matter-of-factly.

“This may help you then. I know a tunn- a zone hop I mean, in Ice Cap. It leads to your home island. And I can show you how to get to Ice Cap by a hop in Angel Island Zone.”

Sonic threw his arms up, “What the heck?”

Mighty blinked with surprise.

“Aren’t hops like weird little glitch outs? I’ve only seen two my entire life. And I’m everywhere! How are you lining these up like nothing?”

Mighty just laughed in response. 

“...You gonna answer, or?”

“Ah- W-what way can I explain myself? I know them from my travels and--” the sentence ended with a little shrug.

“Hmmm…” Sonic rubbed his chin slowly. “I’ll give it a shot!”

He grabbed the armadillo’s arm to take off, but Mighty quickly interrupted. “If I may. I’d prefer not to slow you. Can I give you directions? It’s quite easy.”

Looking very pleased at this suggestion, Sonic let go. Mighty began drawing up a rough map into a patch of purple dirt. “Now. Leaving Azure Lake, you’ll come to a fallen tree in- oh! That’s right. Azure Lake is a looping beta zone. Do you know the way out?”

“OF course~”

“Good good. So, in Angel Island Zone, to your immediate left,” he drew, “will be a fallen tree. Think of it as a compass, if you will, and go the direction it’s pointed. When you see--oh, a… a sort of place where the canopy gets very low, and seems to-”

A voice interrupted from behind, “So it is you. That was fast.”

Mighty turned. There was Knuckles. His characteristically hard expression lowered to a glower when Sonic poked his head out.

“You.”

“Yooo Knuckles~” Sonic grinned. “Lookin good! Knew you’d be back to your ol’ self in no time!”

Knuckles strode towards him, “Where are the emeralds.”

“Eh?” Sonic laughed, even though Knuckles now stood toe to toe with him. “Not tryina punch em outta me this time! I’m touched!”

Mighty cheerfully moved in, “No disputes, friends, please.”

“Yeah, what’s with ya Knuckle-head?”

“Please,” Mighty emphasized.

Sonic blinked. Somewhat surprised at this. But then addressed Knuckles, shrugging. “Don’t have em anymore. I let em go after gettin back to West Side Island. I don’t think I should have em anyway, right?”

Not entirely convinced, Knuckles searched his eyes. Then, he turned to Mighty. “Something wrong? It’s not like you to return so quickly.”

“I'm quite alright!” Mighty assured with a thumbs up. “That’s thanks to our hedgehog here! But, we should leave venturing that new island for… much, much later. An odd place... We can tell you about it.”

Sonic looked between the two blankly. Only now realizing they actually knew each other. And that Knuckles was already aware that Mighty was exploring the mysterious island.

Mighty interrupted himself, “Oh, sorry sorry. Let's leave that for later! Right now, Mr. Hedgehog needs to return to Starlight.”

Nodding, Knuckles warned, “Be careful, Sonic. There’s zonal disturbances.”

“Whatzits?”

“Just be on the lookout.” Knuckles answered tersely.

Mighty eyed Knuckles after this response.

Sonic squinted. “...Ya know. If something’s up, I can help.”

Knuckles answered, “It doesn’t matter. You don’t have the emeralds.”

Sonic stood there. Then laughed, and gave a playful slap to the echidna's back, “Y’know, I really don’t get you Knucklehead. Glad you’re alright though. Ya missed a wild ride on the Death Egg!”

Knuckles glared, annoyed and amused at the same time.

 

“Until we met again, Mr. Hedgehog! I’m sure I’ll see you once more.”

“Naturally~!” Sonic beamed with a double peace sign.

Sonic was off, with Mighty’s directions laid out in his mind. The little stars he kicked up glinted and drifted slowly, past the two who stayed behind. Mighty continued waving farewell and Knuckles stood with arms crossed.

It was quiet now. Both of them looking in the direction Sonic had disappeared.

“Knuckles,” Mighty began pensively. “...Does he know about Hidden Palace?”

“Unfortunately.”

“Hoh I’m relieved,” Mighty whispered with a hand over his chest. “But I’m sorry. I gave him a way back to his island, using the warp tunnels. He has a footpath to and from your island now. But I’m glad there’s no secret at risk, at least.” He paused. Then he pushed one of his cheeks up, groaning, “I never meant anyone else to know about the warp tunnelllllls. I was so frightened in Starlight…”

Knuckles continued looking out.

Mighty sighed slowly. “...I do wonder. If he already knows about the Super Emeralds, why you don’t inform him of the change happening with them?”

“His power over the emeralds. I don’t trust it.”

An uneven smile crept over Mighty's face, as if he was trying to suppress it from view. “...Now. Are you really one to trust easily, my dear friend?”

Knuckles seemed to smirk.

Mighty clapped his hands together, “Well! As he said--he doesn’t have them. Is there need to worry?”

Knuckles answered, “I’m unclear. But I feel he still has control over them. Somehow.”

Mighty nodded. “...You are the Guardian. You see and have always seen beyond. ...Although,” smiling, Mighty nudged him with unmeant force. “Perhaps next time, you can ask him. Whether he notices anything different since he used them? I am just a simple armadillo. But I think you can trust our dear Sonic.”

Knuckles grunted, not giving an answer either way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for staying and reading Chapter 2!! Hope you're enjoying as the main cast joins the adventure! See you next week!
> 
> [Read the chapter notes here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zf4cXg_dff13Kz1RviNrgUj0D57mVLlrYA6qisR5tJM/edit?usp=sharing)  
> (Just press back to return to this page)


	3. Chapter 3

“Here’s where I live!” Tails declared happily.

He stood with Amy amongst ruins remarkably overgrown and weathered. Pillars laid strewn about, and partially swallowed by the earth. Ancient ceilings once supported by the pillars were piled in jumbles of sharp, triangular boulders. Nearby was a loop broken into two huge pieces--one fallen to the ground, and the other, leaning all its weight against the trees of Aquatic Ruin Zone.

Amy looked where Tails had pointed, toward the sunlit leaves. Nestled there in the branches was a small treehouse--or, something like it. It was more like a series of cute, stand-alone rooms winding up the main trunk. Pale yellow planks of wood were used to construct it, with walkways, ladders, ropes, and bridges connecting each section.

Tails scampered behind a tire swing, and poked his head through the center, “It has a pulley system! Here, I’ll show you, Amy!”

He held the swing still for her. Amy hopped on and watched Tails grab a rope. Determinedly, he started tugging it down, causing the swing to lift.

“Cool!” Amy gasped.

“Hold on tight!”

Amy watched the ground slowly stretch further and further from her feet. The yellow-green sunlight filtering through the leaves grew oranger, and brighter, with each passing branch. Directly above her, she saw a circular platform with a hole in the middle, like a donut. The swing pulled her neatly up through the hole, then finally, stopped moving.

Amy stepped happily onto the platform and peered over the rail to see Tails. He was tying the rope off. “But Tails? How will you get up now?”

Tails waved, then hurried towards a different tree. He gave his tails a whirl and landed onto a planked bridge. He ran along, beaming up at Amy, “I built a buncha ways to get up. There’s even some secret ways!”

“Did you just FLY?” Amy exclaimed.

“Oh.” Tails stopped. “Hee, yeah!”

 

Both of them had tons of fun running up walkways and climbing ropes as Tails led her through his home. There was a Look Out Room, an Eating Room--where they ate a few marshmallows--a Sleeping Room, an Experiment Room, a Thinking Room, and the current room, which was filled with parts salvaged from Eggman’s neutralized bases.

“Here’s my Control Room!”

“Ooo! What’s it control?”

“Tee nothing yet,” Tails grinned.

Just then, several small, electronic pips grabbed their attention. They emitted from a hand-held machine sitting on a stool.

“What’s that?” Amy asked.

“...My Emerald Reader,” Tails answered slowly as he picked it up. Backlit numbers blipped across the screen. He studied it with a furrowed brow.

Amy walked over with quiet wonder, “Ohhh, it can find emeralds?”

Tails nodded, then pressed a few buttons. Sternly, he brought it over to a workbench and removed its side panel. He grabbed a few tools.

“Is it broken?”

“I don’t know,” Tails murmured. After making some adjustments, he picked it up again and pressed a button. “...I made it to pick up a certain energy of the Chaos Emeralds. Right here,” he pointed, “it sort of tells me where one might be located. Um, it's not that accurate though. And here, it tells me where on the electromagnetic spectrum an emerald is. But that part’s all weird… I don’t get it. The wavelength says 400… but now, see! Says null. Like my reader can’t keep signal with it.”

Amy took a quick step aside as if she was blocking the signal.

Tails laughed. “It’s not you. It’s picking up all the other emeralds real well. I guess I’ll just figure it out later.”

Amy blinked. “Huh? You don’t have to wait. Maybe I can help too, somehow.”

“But Amy,” Tails objected, “what about you getting home?”

“I don’t mind if we play where it's not my home.” Then she took an eager step forward, "Besides! What if your reader's right? And something's happening with the emeralds? Then we should do something about it, right?"

Tails smiled. “...Yeah. Okay!” He took the reader and headed for the door, “Let’s go then, let’s do some tests!”

 

Sonic dashed through Azure Lake’s gentle meadows. Tiny flowers rushed past his legs like confetti. Again and again, the same landmarks passed by in a never-ending loop. He scanned, waiting for the beta zone’s exit to reveal itself. As he trekked, the parting words of Knuckles and Mighty played over in his mind.

“I can’t let you leave, not without cautioning you, my friend.” Mighty had told him. “These zone hops. They do pose… risks. I-it’s less a matter of making you dizzy, or um- It’s that...”

“You can be trapped. Permanently,” Knuckles clarified.

Mighty nodded. “It’s true.”

Knuckles continued, sincerely, “You have collected emeralds many times, Sonic. You know that Special Stages have clear entrances and exits. Entrance rings. Exit objects or time limits. These are not present in the pathways you call zone hops. This is because they lack the usual stabilization provided by emeralds, or any other binding force for that matter, and can’t-”

Knuckles had said more. Though Sonic couldn’t quite recall the dry, exhaustive explanation the echidna had run through after that.

He did remember Mighty holding up three fingers and announcing, “Here are my ‘Zone Hop Rules of Safeness’! I practice these even with hops I use time and time again. I’ll feel much better if you take them to heart, Mr. Hedgehog.”

From the corner of his eye, Sonic caught sight of something strange--small squares jittering across the ground, in colors foreign to Azure Lake Zone. But they were gone in an instant.

He skidded to a stop. And casually backtracked. Until, again, the shapes blipped to existence right before his eyes.

“Gotcha~”

He marched toward the strange squares. The music froze, cut out, warped around. Pixels glitched and flashed around him in a multitude of colors. But the tune regained itself, now mellow, the song of Angel Island Zone. Its tropical color scheme overtook Azure Lake’s, and almost as quickly as it began, the disrupted pixels snapped back into place.

There, in front of him, stood Angel Island Zone.

Sonic frowned. Sections of the forest were charred and empty. He had forgotten that Eggman set fire to zone. But, slowly Sonic realized, that hardly any burned trees were actually standing. Instead they were methodically lined upon the ground, piled in different areas. Debris was cleared out. Surviving trees that had sustained damage were tied to one another for support.

Sonic’s expression softened. Then he smiled, knowingly. “...This place is in good hands.”

Just as Mighty had described, lying right in front of him was a fallen palm tree pointing the way. “His safety rules,” Sonic snickered to himself. He hopped onto the tree and imitated the armadillo’s deeper voice, “First, never use a zone hop without testing the other side with a stick!” He streaked forward in the direction the log was pointed.

“Two--always go through hops fast? Psh, you even gotta say?”

Ahead, a wall blocked his path. Sonic leapt for a spring. “Three~ beware of inverted orientations!” His feet hit the spring. Nothing happened. Except an activation sound. “Uh-”

Fractures split in multiple directions beneath Sonic’s feet. The ground collapsed. He dropped into a deep narrow hole.

“Waa-oaah!!”

A pile of dirt cushioned his landing. Only his head and arms were left sticking out.

Sonic sighed. Tapped his fingers. Then, he slowly lifted his head and called up, “Knuckles, ya need to learn to stop LEAVING YOUR TRAPS EVERYwhere. Sheesh.”

Sonic used his arms to pop the rest of his body out of the dirt. He dusted himself off.

Revving up, he jumped and ran up the dirt wall. Round and round he spun up the hole until he reached the top, and shot into the air. He easily cleared the wall that had blocked his path, landed dramatically, and took off.

 

The next landmark Mighty had indicated, the low canopy, came rushing over Sonic’s head. He gleefully raised both hands and touched the leaves. He noticed too, walls rising on either side as he ran. He was entering a crevice with sides angled steeply in, making the path ahead increasingly narrow.

Steadily the foliage built up, thicker and thicker around him. He was forced to slow to a walk and push through large, fan-shaped plants on the ground, as well as vines hanging down from the trees.

“What a cool little place!” he commented. “Ack!”

Sonic froze. Vines were caught on his spines. Gingerly, he untangled the loops and sidestepped away. He continued on, covering his head to avoid a second occurrence.

Soft white light reflecting off the surroundings guided Sonic’s route. The source became easier to follow the dimmer the crevice grew. With each fan plant he pushed past, the white intensified, until finally, he abruptly met with a wall. There, Sonic and the surroundings stood silhouetted against a radiant, circular portal.

“OKAY! This should be Ice Cap! Oh-” he searched the ground. And spotted a stick. Lightly he tossed it into the air and caught it. “Looks good enough!”

He stuck it through the portal and felt for solid ground on the other side. The stick only swished through empty air. He stepped forward and swiped further down. Nothing. Instead, he tried lifting the stick up. Immediately he felt it puncture into snow on the other side.

Sonic stopped. Then laughed. “Upside-down??”

Eager to experience it, Sonic backed up, then jumped head-first into the portal. Ice Cap Zone’s solid bassline materialized around him, and a moment later he landed gently, on his back, in a cushion of snow.

 

Sonic stared. His eyes were focused on the last portal. The one to take him to South Island. But the glowing circle was surrounded by beautifully deep blue, numbingly cold ice water.

Crouched at the snowy shoreline, Sonic had already tried a good two minutes to work out whether the portal was floating just slightly above the lake’s frightening surface. Or below.

He scooped a handful of snow and tossed it into the portal. No splash.

He shrugged. “Well. Guess that settles that.”

Without another thought, Sonic sprung into the air. But then scrambled to land back on the snow.

“Uh, h-heh.”

Sonic decided to hold his nose. It took a few false starts before he finally made the leap for the bright point in the lake.

His feet hit the water. He closed his eyes and held his breath tight. Warmth flooded around him. And he landed, normally. Marble Zone’s sluggish tune occupied the air. Sonic’s eyes opened to his home island’s familiar lava zone.

Sonic blinked a few times. Then let out his held breath slowly.

“...Heeey~” he grinned. “Messed up spikeball~ Here I come!”

 

“A shame that new island is so unstable at the moment,” Mighty told Knuckles as they walked. “Such a pretty place. Imagine, lily pads floating above us, in midair! And so many wonderful flowers! I should like for you to see them one day. One was like this,” he cupped his hands, “but long, spiraled up the middle. There were others like cute little puffs. They bobbed this way,” he wiggled his body and laughed.

Knuckles walked along, smiling.

Mighty stayed smiling too. “...You’re certain you couldn’t use any help with the island, Knuckles?”

“Mm," Knuckles answered. "There’s considerable flood damage left in the lower zones. I can handle it.”

“Ahhh, well you ARE incredible,” Mighty admired.

Shaking his head, Knuckles smiled. “Where will you go?”

“Me? I suppose I’d like to stroll a few of my favorite places. Then I’ll come back. You’ll likely be finished with your island business by then. Does that sound fine?”

Knuckles nodded.

Mighty moved in and gave him a great hug. When he pulled away, he kept his hands on Knuckles’ shoulders. “See you soon then, my dear friend.”

Mighty began on his way. Knuckles watched.

“...Mighty. One thing more.”

Mighty stopped.

“You be careful too.”

Mighty turned, to see if more would follow. When nothing did, he nodded, “You have warned me before. Has something changed?”

“I just don’t like what’s happening in Hidden Palace.”

“Quite understandable.”

Knuckles' head lowered. “...I can’t leave the island. If the Super Emeralds are having an effect on zones outside my realm, I have no way of knowing. Will you come back, if you notice anything unusual?”

“I surely will,” Mighty agreed warmly.

Knuckles nodded back firmly in response. “So long.”

Revving up his arms, the echidna dove into the ground, and tunneled out of sight. Mighty only stood, in thought. For awhile. Until he looked attentively in the direction Sonic had left some minutes ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's the end of chapter 3! Thanks for reading!
> 
> For pics of how things look, especially Tails' treehouse (cuz I imagine it looking very cute), check out the chapter notes below.
> 
> [Chapter 3 Notes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lG2f0p1UoOxJVKw6nml9lsXn6uvZYIMI_zpsw614zKc/edit?usp=sharing)  
> (Just press back to return to this page)


	4. Chapter 4

A erratic trail of dust kicked out behind Sonic's path. He leapt and skidded over green, tangled roadways to track down his long-waited target. 

Hitting a spring, he catapulted high into the air. For a split second, the spikeball caught his peripheral vision. He snapped his head to look. It whizzed ferociously beneath him. 

Sonic touched down on one of Starlight Zone's skyscrapers. He vaulted over a group of bomb bots, hopscotched over a maze of floating platforms, and swung right into the curve of a highway.

The spikeball was flying ahead of him a few stories below. As he began catching up, it veered, and collided into the highway's underbelly. Somewhere beneath scaffolding groaned and splintered. The ground undulated, heavily, one side to the other. Then the entire highway began tilting sideways.

Sonic scoffed playfully, “Hey, tryina push me off?”

His eyes darted around to re-locate the spikeball. But as the roadway tilted closer and closer to 90 degrees, he had to run faster and faster to keep from falling off. Up ahead was a loop. Halfway around it, Sonic grabbed onto the top. He pulled himself up to stand on what was normally the side of the loop, and looked around.

Small, pulsating red lights along the loop illuminated him from below. The spikeball was beginning to swoop back around.

“Right~” Sonic nodded. “Now, what I need...”

He peered over the ledge to scan the options below him. Down inside the alcove of a building, he spotted a gang of bomb bots.

He snapped his fingers. Then stepped nonchalantly off the ledge. Wind rushed past his spines, through his ears. He fell fell fell through the darkness, towards the zone’s bottomless pit, until to his right, a girder rushed upwards beside him. He caught onto one of its vertical bars and guided his fall along it. The building with the bomb bots barreled towards him.

He leapt off. He landed skidding across the roof, over an area of break-away land. As it collapsed behind him, creating an entrance into the alcove, he craned his head back to search the sky. 

He waited. Tapped his foot. 

But a twitch of his ear disturbed his concentration. The zone’s melody. The pleasant tune seemed stammer. And then continued as normal. 

Sonic squinted slowly. He wondered if the entire pitch changed just now. Actually, it was almost as if the music sounded more like Starlight Zone than it had before.

The spikeball came careening into position. Sonic back-flipped into the alcove. Four bomb bots inside immediately lit their fuses. He nabbed one from the ground and dropped it onto a spring. It launched out of the alcove, into the air. Sonic went right to dodging the rest. He evaded the first bomb bot, but got caught in the second's detonation, and was sent flying onto the roof of an adjacent building. 

Sonic let himself skid across the bricks. His eyes were fixed to the sky. He spotted the bomb bot that had been launched from the spring. Right on target, it smashed into the rogue spikeball. A red hot fracture split open, intensifying to a orange, then white, before it blew to pieces across the starry sky.

A bit scraped and singed, Sonic hopped to his feet and rotated his arm a few times, “Welp! Back to normal~ Now I can finally do what I came here for!”

He streaked towards a ramp--running, running--jogging. Gradually his stride dwindled to soft, delayed pit-pats against the cement. They came to a rest at the base of the ramp.

“Y’know? ...What the heck, I’m beat!!” he declared. “I’m outta here. Time to relax~”

Over the milder features of Green Hill Zone, Sonic felt like he was gliding. Gently up, down, up. Over the bright, cushiony hills. Sunlight and shadows drifted across the grass as he ran, casted from the white, plump clouds in the sky.

He zipped over a log bridge, right by two little animals who looked startled after him.

“W-wait!! Sonic help!”

Sonic skidded on his heels.

“Oh I’m so glad you’re back!" Pocky, the little bunny, exclaimed as he hopped to his side. "We heard you were. It's my sister! She’s still a bot!”

Sonic gasped, “What?”

“Down there!” Pocky pointed towards the waterfall beneath the bridge.

Sonic immediately strode over, “I’ll get her back.”

“C-careful, she jumps up out of the water and tries to BITE,” Pocky warned.

“With huge scary teeth!” his flicky friend squeaked.

Pocky nodded frantically. "She’s been like that so long, oh will she be okay??”

With a confident thumbs up, Sonic strolled to the middle of the bridge. The rumble of the waterfall blocked out the sound of much else. He stuck his leg out over the edge. A red piranha bot launched itself up towards him.

A single jump, a poof of smoke, and out popped a little bunny from inside the bot. The other two little animals rushed in.

“You’re okay!!”

“Oh you’re alright!”

The freed bunny strained in their embraces, “Ack, what’s wrong with you guys…?? You’re choking me…!”

Sonic chuckled. He was drained. But satisfied. He waited a few short seconds before zipping away.

A grassy ledge. Sonic’s plane sat upon it, facing the open sea. It was the end of South Island--where Green Hill Zone met the water. Planting his foot on the ledge, Sonic looked out. Vibrant turquoise waves lapped gently into a cove below. Tall palm trees dotted the sand, and cheerful patches of sunflowers edged the base of the cliffs surrounding it.

Near the water, a hammock swayed between two palm trees. Slowly, pleasantly. Shaded by a large umbrella sticking from the sand.

Sonic hopped down into the sunflowers. Sunlight glimmered between the stalks as he pressed through. His mind savored the prospect of lying in that hammock, of relaxing on South Island's beach for the first time in ages. As soon as he stepped out onto open beach, his foot smacked into something. He floundered and belly flopped right into the sand.

“OH, Sonic-! Sorry sorry!”

Sonic was plucked up by his leg, then righted to his feet. It was Mighty. He was peering fretfully at him through a pair of sunglasses.

“Did I hurt you? I’m sorry.”

“Fine,” Sonic answered blandly while dusting sand off.

Mighty nodded. Then smiled nervously, “I didn’t mean any mischief! My thought was, you’d see me, wearing your glasses, and it might funny, and…” He changed topics as he handed them over. “Anyway, I thought to wait for you here. Much easier than trying to chase you down.”

“M’surprised you remember this place,” Sonic murmured as he held the sunglasses to the light. 

“Now how could I forget,” Mighty beamed. “And can you believe the luck? Of us BOTH having already discovered Angel Island? I had a feeling you knew! Golly what a thing, to talk to someone else about now!”

Sonic slid the sunglasses on leisurely, “You're tellin me.” He hopped into the hammock and laid back. “Scared the spines off me, thinkin I gave away Knuckles’ secret. But you went n already knew all about him? Somehow.”

Mighty laughed modestly. “I suppose so.”

Sonic wasn’t satisfied by the answer, but didn’t pursue it. Instead he stretched his arms out slowly and then wedged them behind his head to relax.

“ ...Um. Mr. Hedgehog. Quickly, if I may.”

“I’m ears~”

“I’d like to tell you. Knuckles, you see. The reason he’s concerned about the zo-”

“Yeah?” Sonic cut in, anticipating the topic.

“It’s--something about… I-I’m afraid emeralds and such powers are beyond me, but, concerning them.”

“And that’s why he was all bent outta shape at me about em?”

“He’s a little puzzled by you,” Mighty said apologetically.

“HE’S a puzzle.”

Mighty stifled a laugh, “L-let’s not be hard on our Guardian, now.”

“Yo, I love Knucklehead,” Sonic droned, despite the playful words.

“Hah well... he did mention to me, to alert him of any zone oddities. And I- well since you’re familiar with him as well, I figure two on the lookout is better than one. You’re more keen than me in the first place!” Mighty laughed. “So I think I may part now, my friend, and visit your island for anything strange?”

“Done and done! First thing I did comin back was that, and it all checked out.”

“Ah then! I trust your instincts.” Reaching down, Mighty took his bindle from the sand, and accidentally hit it against the umbrella on the way up. It only wobbled, but very carefully he used one finger to steady it.

“...You know though.”

Mighty looked at him.

“Somethin did bug me…”

“That terrifying spikeball?” Mighty guessed.

“Tff! Nah, that just seemed like a zone obstacle gettin wacky. I seen stuff like that happen, y’know?” Sonic's brow furrowed, and he looked intently up, through the glowing, sun-lit palm leaves. “Starlight though. ...I came back and it sounded like it always did. But still... somethin in me was saying, it was different somehow.”

“Different? Its melody?”

“You noticed?” Sonic sat up, lifting the sunglasses.

“I’m afraid I--don’t recall.”

Slowly, Sonic put them back down. “Hm.”

“Starlight’s not known to be unstable. So I see your worry, Mr. Hedgehog.”

Sonic laid back without answering.

Mighty turned to the sea. “...But change... It seems common in this world of ours, wouldn’t you say? My memories still have images of Azure Lake, a full zone, big and wide. And not looping!” he added. “That was a time ago. It’s grown very small now. ...And still, new zones are springing up all the time! Whole new islands!” he laughed, recalling what they had just discovered together. “So. I know little of what Knuckles’ concerns are. Regarding zone disturbances, at least. If there are any to find though, I think you and I will be the first to notice. We’re kindred in that way.”

Thoughtfully, Sonic tilted his gaze over at him.

“My asking you, to let him know of anything alarming. Are you alright with that?”

“Sure,” Sonic agreed sincerely.

Mighty nodded. He waved a smiling goodbye. “Rest well, my friend.” With that, he headed towards the tall wall of sunflowers lining the cove, and disappeared behind them.

“Yo, Mighty!” Sonic called after.

It was a few moments before Mighty re-emerged. He was back-stepping to avoid hitting the flowers with his bindle. Sonic snickered but waited for him.

“Hey, thanks for getting me back home. Really. Was nice seeing you again. I mean I haven't seen you since we got off that Eggman Island?? That was a nice trip, huh?”

“SONIC.” Mighty admonished. Sonic immediately cracked up. Mighty shook his head with terror and threw his arms up, “Awful! My worst days on this earth..!”

Sonic grinned, “C'mon, you had SOME fun! You got to meet me~ right?”

Mighty only leered over at him with disbelief, until Sonic busted up again.

Knuckles stepped through shallow inches of water. It reached just shy of the metal brackets on his shoes. Beneath, a floor of turquoise, gold, and purple lay flooded over. He followed the direction of the water's gentle flow until he met an underwater ledge. The water beyond was a deep blue, indicating its great depth.

With a muffled splash, Knuckles dove through the surface.

Due to the island's temporary crash into the ocean, excess water from the upper zones was draining into Hydrocity Zone. Although it had always been partially flooded, its water level had risen higher than the Guardian had ever seen before. Perhaps this wasn't necessarily a problem. But he wanted to return everything back to how it was. Before Eggman had changed so much of this island he was meant to protect.

Knuckles swam down the chilly water, between a group of cylindrical structures with tick-tocking orbs inside. He took hold of one and used it, hand over hand, to guide himself down to the floor.

Once there, Knuckles reeled back and struck his fist to the ground. It took a few punches to crack through the bricks. But once he did, he dug furiously into the earth. 

The echidna came erupting out from the side of Angel Island. A surge of water bursted after him. 

Knuckles broke into a glide and veered around to check his work. The handmade waterfall roared steadily off the side of the colossal island. The end of its flow melded gently into the sky as a soft mist.

Knuckles passed through a cloud. And upon emerging, he admired the cloudy seascape swirling around the island. Pillowy white in all directions. The only hint of the outside world peeked in as a vibrant blue patches of sky. Just as it should to be.

Knuckles had moved on, to Mushroom Hill Zone, to maintain his traps scattered about the island. Sitting in the branches of an enormous tree, he was adjusting a rope when he heard a rustle in the leaves. A little squirrel climbed down past him.

“Hi Knuckles!”

He nodded. The squirrel continued on her way, followed by another.

“Hi Knuckles!”

Nodding again, he watched to make sure they didn’t have trouble getting around his ropes. He started to tie off a knot. But slowly stopped.

Something came over him. A feeling.

Knuckles landed heavily to the ground. Pollen kicked up as he took off. He jumped off a chasm, caught onto a dotted yellow wall, and slid down until he dropped into a cavern.

Hidden inside, in brilliant colors, was a huge ring.

Knuckles reached out. With one touch, a flare of light, he found himself instantly teleported to the emerald altar inside Hidden Palace. 

A fury of electric purple met him there. The energy refracted against the polished tiles, streaked into the air like lightning. The source--the violet Super Emerald. It flickered wildly and spurted a pressure that pressed the Guardian in on himself.

Knuckles strode through the energy. He thrusted both hands down. Upon contact with the stone, his eyes met a blinding light.

“Ah! It’s doing it it’s doing it!” Tails blurted.

Amy, who was sampling Aquatic Ruin Zone's berries, came rushing back over.

“Look!” Tails urged, showing Amy the Emerald Reader. Numbers blipped up and down rapidly. “Just like before.”

Amy watched the little fox try some adjustments on the device. Until something glistened from the corner of her eye. She looked up and saw a faint pattern in the air. A grid. With lines just slightly perceptible by their glow. The grid was moving towards them. And it passed swiftly over her and the surroundings.

Amy blinked out of instinct. Then, mystified by the phenomenon, she looked around.

The surroundings started to change. It felt like seeing double. Over the ground seemed to be another ground. As if they were overlaying one another. But one was starting to disappear. She realized that the surroundings of a different zone were fading in, and those of this zone were fading out.

Amy threw her arms around Tails and tried to drag him backwards, “Watch out!”

“Ow, hey,” Tails pulled away.

“Tails, wait!”

The ground beneath Tails' feet vanished.

“DAAAAH!?”

He fell.

Furiously, Tails whirled his tails. His fall gradually slowed.

Tails looked up to see he had fallen off the side of a cliff that wasn't there moments earlier. He closed his eyes tight and spun his tails as hard as he could to make it back to the top.

Amy pulled him onto land as soon as he was close enough. He grabbed onto her, shaken, “W-what just happened…?”

“I don’t know...”

The thick canopy of Aquatic Ruin Zone was gone. The surroundings were wide, open. Spread out before them were the jutting blue peaks and lava-filled valleys of Hilltop Zone.

Tails stared. “It’s… Hilltop? But... how?”

“Tails, your reader…” Amy noticed his empty hands.

He looked at his hands too. He had forgotten about the device. “Oh no... I dropped it...”

Amy took one of his hands, “We’ll get it! Let’s just be careful!”

Nonsensical shapes and colors orbited the far distance. Knuckles moved confidently through the Special Stage. It tilted, twisted, turned, but no matter how bizarre, he remained unfazed, and continued through.

He passed through a blue orb. The last one remaining in this place. All at once everything unraveled. Time seemed to narrow. Knuckles felt himself moving slower, slower, as the violet Chaos Emerald revealed itself to him. He stretched his arm, and the gem floated perfectly into his palm.

Suddenly, Knuckles felt his feet planted firmly at the emerald altar. His eyes kept closed. He waited for the melody of the palace to return to him.

Finally looking, beneath his hands he saw the brilliant cuts of the violet Super Emerald. Pacified. Normal.

He stared intently at it. For a very long time.

Slowly, he stood up straight. And slid his hands off.

“...It keeps happening.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> [Chapter 4 Notes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/14ZHLH4lurBxM_VlNf1ycA54DBvLUeTYOBtzBjDBZkiU/edit?usp=sharing)  
> (Just press back to return to this page)


	5. Chapter 5

Rows of thick, bristly pine trees obscured the view below. It had been a rough fall for the Emerald Reader down the steep slopes of Hill Top Zone. Tails and Amy were descending now. Carefully they traveled along narrow, grassy ledges jutting out from the mountainside. While some ledges accommodated the width of one or two pine trees, most barely fit their own feet. And, although Tails was capable of flying them from foothold to foothold, the two got a kick out of edging along the walls like spies on a top-secret mission.

Partway down, they came upon a red-hot split in the mountainside. Fiery orange and red pulsated inside. They leaned in and stared at the colors, mesmerized. Then they beamed at each other.

“I bet you there’s lava inside there!” Amy said.

Tails nodded. He hopped and hovered to peek around the the mountain. “Yeah hey! It’s coming out this side, Amy!”

The lava ran leisurely down the slope in the same direction they were headed. The children stayed near enough to watch it on the climb down, but far away enough to avoid the heat.

Near the base of the mountain, Tails and Amy reached a ridge, where the flow cascaded into a sluggish lavafall. Peering over the ridge, they were greeted by a heavy wave of heat. A churning pool of lava glowed hot and bright below. Wobbling columns of steam rose up into the air.

“There it is!” they exclaimed in unison.

The Emerald Reader lay a safe distance from the lava. But it was partially shattered with pieces strewn all around.

As Tails and Amy approached, the heat grew more and more incredible. So incredible that their bodies forced them to squint, and then to stop advancing entirely. They couldn't get closer even though the Emerald Reader lay just a few feet away.

Tails slouched, “Hueeeh… It’s sooo hooot down here.”

“But hotness won’t stop the rescue mission!” Amy announced heroically.

Tails looked thoughtful. Then, he nervously reached for the reader.

“Wait wait!” Amy urged. She pulled out her hammer and smiled. “Watch this!” With it, she dragged the reader safely to their feet.

“Yay!” Tails cheered with a sluggish raise of his arms. He wiped his brow and sighed, “Thanks, Amy. Actually... we better not touch it for a while, huh? It’s prolly really hot too.”

“Yeah.”

They both leaned in and peered down at the device.

“...It looks really broken,” Tails murmured.

“Can you fix it?”

“Maybe…”

Amy touched his arm cheerfully, “Lucky huh it didn’t go in the lava!”

Tails paused. Then smiled. “Yeah!”

“See, and even if this one’s broke, you can use parts of it to make a new one.”

“Uh…”

“You think?” Amy asked.

Tails wrung his hands, “Well… I could build it maybe, but. It had a program inside it. That’s what tells it what to do, and. Eggman. He made that. I did some things and made it do what I wanted, but… I didn’t make the program. I’m not very good at that.”

Amy made a sound of sympathy.

“But, maybe I can find another thing of his that ha-” Tails blinked reflexively. He thought something brushed past his eyes. Then he realized, a strange, grid-like pattern had swept past them.

Amy tensed, “It’s that thing agai-”

The surroundings faded. The ground vanished from under their feet. Wide-eyed, they both shrieked. But instead of falling, they were pulled upwards.

Wind chopped at Tails’ vision. Through squinting eyes, all he managed to see was sky in every direction. No sign of Hilltop Zone anywhere. And though they had been yanked upwards, the momentum felt the same as falling. He spotted Amy, a few feet above him, falling at the same velocity. Her hammer was in the crook of her arm, and she had her hands pressed over her eyes.

Faster and faster they fell. Tails tried shouting to Amy, but the roar of the wind immediately blocked his voice. So he tried again.

“Amy!!”

She peeked from behind her fingers. Tails was reaching for the head of her hammer. She gripped the handle tight and held it out to him, “Tails, reach!”

After a few attempts, Tails grasped onto it with both hands and began whirling his tails. Their velocity gently slowed. But already, he struggled to keep a grip on the bulky hammer head.

“I c-an’t hold on!”

“Tails-”

His fingers slipped. Before he had a chance to react, grass appeared in his face. He thumped onto solid ground.

Disorientated, Tails lifted himself up. It was Hill Top Zone once again.

He stared panicked at the ground. Somehow, he had arrived back. But Amy was still falling in the other zone. Tails grabbed at the grass, as if to reach back into the place he had just been, “Amy?!”

 

The wind roared, louder, louder. Amy looked in all directions to find her friend, who had suddenly disappeared.

All was blue.

Soon, rainclouds became visible in the distance. She watched them through her approaching fall, until she was engulfed in gray mist.

Tiny raindrops speckled her fur.

In the blink of an eye, the clouds scattered away. There, floating in front of her, were enormous shards of land--sapphire blue, overgrown with lush plants and flowers, waterfalls cascading upwards and downwards. She gaped at the sight. Until she realized that she was closing in at breakneck speed.

Amy shouted and covered her face with her hands.

Her trajectory shot her straight through the empty space between two shards of land. Slowly though, her body grew heavy. As if being pulled in the opposite direction. The gravity from the huge land shards drew her gradually back. She felt her feet set neatly to the ground. There she remained. Her eyes covered. Too frightened to move.

All was quiet.

The wind that had battered her ears during her fall was gone. In its place, gentle sounds began forming. The light patter of rain. A soothing beat. The melody she'd never heard before came drifting in--slow, mellow, deep. She lifted her head.

Soft light reflected off faintly falling raindrops. But they were falling the wrong direction. From the ground, up towards the gray sky.

Looking around, Amy realized she was the one that was upside-down. She stood on the underside of a land shard. It shielded her from the rain falling from the sky above.

“...Tails?”

She wobbled a few steps, but started jogging to see where her friend had landed. She ran around the entire land shard, which was about the size of a single-story building, until she again stood on its underside.

Amy cupped her hands and called out, “Taaaaaaails!! Where are yooou!”

Her voice carried out across the floating, neighboring land masses.

No answer.

On the ground, Amy spotted the Emerald Reader. She picked it up and inspected it briefly. It looked just as broken as before. Looking out, she tucked it under one arm, and planted the other on her hip.

“West Side Island sure is weird!”

With that, she took a running start and leapt off her shard of land. She landed on a small platform in the sky, and jump after jump, made her way towards another land mass.

 

Times were tranquil on South Island. Sonic spent the days running his favorite routes and relaxing on pristine beaches. As promised, he told the South Islanders about his adventures since his departure, leaving out any mention of Angel Island, according to the Guardian’s wishes. To his surprise, many of them had witnessed the Death Egg’s ascent into space. And its fiery fall. They told him they knew it had to have been him who took it down. Sonic was very touched.

The only issue now was, what to do next. Not much an issue. More than once Sonic's thoughts returned to the strange island he and Mighty had discovered. And over the course of his time on South Island, he decided it the target of his next adventure.

But in the back of his mind was a vague wondering. Of Mighty. The armadillo himself said that zones were always shifting. Yet he had come all that way from Angel Island to tell him Knuckles’ warning. Sonic pondered it in the cockpit of the Tornado. The sunflowers in his little cove waved gently on the ocean breeze.

He shrugged, “Ah well.”

Propeller spinning, goggles on, he enthusiastically flipped a series of switches. Taped there to the control panel was a piece of paper. On it was a scribbly drawing of him. His body was colored yellow instead of blue, and he was shown punching through a lopsided Death Egg in outer space. A tiny Tails cheered in the background, with the messy words “YOU ARE COOL” written across the bottom. It had been enclosed in the envelope Tails gave him before his departure from West Side Island.

Behind the plane, a little bird, Flicky, was flapping towards Sonic. Just as Flicky landed on the back fin of the Tornado, the plane jerked forward.

Soaring into the air, Sonic took in a huge, energizing breath. Then he scanned the ocean cheerfully. “Well! I got no idea where that island is, but that’s parta the fun!”

“SONIC!!”

He jumped clear out of his seat. The Tornado dropped a few feet. Quickly he leveled out and looked around.

“Flicky??”

The little bird clung to the back fin with all his might.

Sonic slowed down, and held his hand out for Flicky, "You want some adventure too?" He laughed.

“S-Sonic, you have to- come back,” Flicky panted as he landed in Sonic's palm.

“Huh? What’s up?”

“Starlight, it’s-...” Flicky struggled to catch his breath.

Sonic nodded. “Actin up?” He started turning the plane around. “Thanks for gettin me. I been keeping an eye on it a few days, but looks like I left too early. Let's check it out!”

 

Hands on his hips, Sonic looked over the side of some green Starlight scaffolding. Flicky sat perched on his head.

“It was here, Sonic. I know it was… There was this pink stuff. It was all scary and glowing...”

“Ah, I believe ya,” Sonic winked while standing up straight. “These things’re funky. Maybe I oughta stay on South Island a bit longer.”

“It is nicer with you here.”

Sonic laughed, trying not to get blushful. “Alright then! Let’s all get together tomorrow, throw a beach party! When’s the last time we did that?”

Turning on his heel, he went to take a step. But he froze at a sudden expanse of hot pink. It flicked in and out. There, beneath the scaffolding they had just been inspecting, a pink lake fully materialized. It fizzed and glowed with acidic chemicals.

Slowly, Sonic put his foot back down.

“...This… what you were talking about?” he almost whispered.

He felt the little bird nod timidly.

Sonic took in a huge, stiff breath.

They both stared down at the liquid without words.

“...Okay.” Sonic reached up, took Flicky into his palms, and lowered him so they could see eye to eye. “I’ll check this out. Tell everyone else steer clear of Starlight. Just for now, alright?”

“Okay, Sonic.”

Flicky flew from his hands to deliver the message. Once he was out of sight, Sonic turned, and looked down at the liquid with more fret than he had shown previously.

“No way... This is... Chemical Plant Zone?”

The familiar buildings and highways of Starlight Zone still stood tall. The sky twinkled with the same starlight. But beneath it all, the zone glowed bright pink. It was flooded with the chemical he had encountered a complete island away--West Side Island. Worse still, the tempo of the zone’s tune had accelerated. It turned jumbled and harsh, as if Chemical Plant’s music was forcing itself into Starlight's.

“...I’m getting some answers from Knuckles.”

 

Sonic sprinted directly to Marble Zone. Once he saw the zone hop there, he launched himself through. The white of Ice Cap flashed before his eyes. He arced over the freezing lake, swooped through the next portal in the snow, and rushed out into Angel Island Zone.

He didn't stop until he cleared the steep crevice where foliage grew thick. Now, in the more open and charred jungle, Sonic stopped and looked around.

He waited. Frazzled.

He paced.

Five or so minutes passed.

“Weird,” he muttered to himself. “Where's that Knuckles? He’s always right up on me.”

He bounced on his heels. Waited one minute more. But, with no other choice, Sonic revved up and took off deeper into the island.

 

Mighty strolled behind a wide, roaring waterfall. It was dim and chilly. Leisurely, he took a stop. Several times he looked to the very top of the fall and followed the flow down with his eyes.

Once he emerged the other side, the surroundings unfolded, revealing plunging blue cliffs and waterfalls pouring in different directions. Raindrops caught slivers of sunlight peeking through the overcast sky. He had been following a winding, narrow path cut into the cliffside. It now widened into a glade. Three rocky, blue loops lined its edges. The grass that carpeted the glade were overrun with flowers. They were waist-high, cheery white, with a few red and yellow ones peeking out among them.

Mighty stepped through a loop. He shuffled his feet gently through the flowers until he stood in the middle of the glade. There he beamed brightly at the treasure he had found.

Carefully he laid down amongst the flowers and gazed up. The gray, misty clouds passed by. One by one.

The air was calm, and filled with the comforting rush of distant waterfalls.

“Mighty!!” came a gleeful chirp.

Mighty sat up in surprise. He hardly had a chance to look before Amy leaped right into his chest.

“Well good-golly-there!” Mighty laughed. He hugged her snug. “Now aren’t you a sight here, Little Rose.”

“Do you like my ribbon?” Amy asked muffled.

He set her down in the flowers to take a look. She pirouetted.

“Ahhh my, what a pretty red. I like it,” Mighty grinned while tapping the color of his own shell.

“Mighty!” Amy scolded happily.

She hugged him again. He hugged back. Until he realized, at length, that she wasn’t letting go. Gently he pulled her away. “Is something the matter, Little Rose?”

Amy looked at him. “...I’m happy to see you again after forever, Mighty, but.” She looked out across the vast landscape. “It’s just, I’ve been here a long time. Like three or four days even.”

Mighty blinked.

“And still I can’t find my friend.”

“Oh?”

Amy nodded and looked up towards the sky. “We got lost from each other. I’m scared to go anywhere else. What if I leave him all alone?”

“It is a wonder you both reached a place like this,” Mighty commented, mostly to himself. But standing to his feet, he smiled. “Well then! Don’t worry, now. I’m quite familiar with this land. Nothing at all harmful here! And I’d love to meet your- what was your friend’s name?”

Amy took his hand, “Tails!”

Mighty blinked, recognizing the name, and moved forward, allowing her to lead. “...Tails?”

She nodded, “Mighty! He’s eight, like me!”

“Ah, wait wait,” Mighty interrupted.

“I’ll get it!” Amy plucked his bindle up from the flowers for him to take.

“Oh, thank you.”

She hopped through the loop towards the path, “Let’s go, Mighty! I missed you!”

“Wait now,” he chuckled warmly. He was well aware Amy wouldn’t hear. Already she was skipping off down the narrow path, and carrying a device he didn’t recognize. After tip-toeing out of the flowers, Mighty followed gladly at his own pace.

The air around was still breezy, and blue.

 

Sonic ran. Sweating miserably. Silhouetted against glowing crimson, he dodged fireballs blasting from the walls and zig-zagged over lava pits. His momentum never wavered, even as the surroundings of Lava Reef Zone began to shift to blue.

The music lulled. To its eternal, reverent tune. He began side stepping enormous crystals jutting from the ground. Deep blue walls closed tightly in. He was following a paved path now. A very familiar one. Relentlessly he navigated the beautiful, narrow caverns leading to Hidden Palace Zone. They were littered with spiked obstacles and climbing platforms.

All at once he came barreling into an enormous, gaping cavern. He screeched to a halt. The sound echoed inside the hollow space.

Sonic paused and looked about. Even his own breathing seemed to reverberate off the massive crystal pillars and clusters looming around him. He began walking, quietly. The crystal's facets glimmered with fleeting colors with every step. He headed for the solid, blinding shaft of light gleaming down from the hole the Death Egg had left behind not so long ago.

Partly lit by the dazzling sunlight was a thin, solitary staircase rising incredibly high. Sonic chuckled and wiped his brow. He recognized these stairs. Where the Guardian had set a gigantic boulder tumbling into him. The stairs had been mended since the incident. The missing steps were replaced with wooden planks that weren’t much too look at, but functional.

Movement at the top of the staircase caught his eye. A figure.

Sonic strained his eyes to recognize them in the dark. Though he had a good idea of who it was. The figure moved forward into the light. Stark red was revealed. Knuckles. Sonic watched as the echidna vaulted into the air and made the long glide over.

Knuckles slowed, and touched down just a few stairs above him.

“THERE you are,” Sonic blurted with relief. “Took ya all the way til now to find me?”

Knuckles only crossed his arms.

“Right! To the point.” Sonic took in a deep breath and motioned with his finger, “Mighty told me to tell you if stuff went funky. And well, it did. Okay, get this. First this spikeball went wacky and was all crashin around, messin up everything in Starlight Zone,” his words gradually slowed in response to the look on echidna’s face, “Then I coulda sworn I heard the... music…” He stopped. “You--okay?”

Knuckles gave a slight shake of his head, and murmured, “...It is like him to tell you."

“Eh?”

“I have something to say.”

“Ah, well, say away~”

Knuckles’s eyes narrowed.

Sonic waited.

“I never thanked you.”

Sonic hesitated. “Ah, whatever. You know I’ll just get a big head if ya do.”

“And, I made a mistake.”

Sonic blinked with genuine shock.

Knuckles' eyes wandered. “...It was foretold. The Death Egg and its power. My people were gone before I could properly learn the lore. So in my ignorance I took Eggman as ally to the Master Emerald.”

Sonic smiled at his incredibly intensity. “Wait, you’re being hard on yourself?? No harm done. Well, pff-in the end I guess. I prolly got a fist-shaped dent in my skull though.”

Surprised by his answer, Knuckles waited.

“I’m sorry too, puttin that huge leak in your roof,” Sonic thumbed at the light beaming in from the ceiling.

Knuckles' eyes stayed fixed on Sonic. “...Time has stood still within the walls of Hidden Palace for over a thousand years. You could not have picked a worse place to crash the Death Egg.”

Sonic tried not to crack up at the amazingly blunt sentence--or at the possibility that the echidna might’ve actually cracked a joke.

“Be that as it may,” Knuckles finally uncrossed his arms. He glanced around at the crystals illuminated by sunlight. “You saved Angel Island. You saved the Master Emerald. If you’ve come to tell me about zonal disturbances… I’ll this time be your ally. Please tell me all you know.”

Sonic sped up to him eagerly, “Okay, but you are not gonna BELIEVE!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The zone Amy got taken to isn’t canon. I made it up! If you wanna see visuals of how it looks, or hear what I imagine its zone music to sound like, be sure to check out the Chapter Notes below!
> 
> There's other cool classic game reference relating to this chapter in it too
> 
> [Chapter 5 Notes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/16_NMta45VbCPFj5CiF1o43fDnDHnEEARDFrRsy5zCB4/edit?usp=sharing)  
> (Just press back to return to this page)


	6. Chapter 6

“Listen. Zone shifting, stuff going in n out of beta. All that? I'm used to that stuff. It's kinda fun!” Sonic commented to Knuckles in the darkness. Together they traveled down a long, underground tunnel. The pleasant smell of dirt saturated the passage meandering up and down beneath the earth.

Knuckles was leading the way. He had kept silent the entire time.

Sonic continued addressing his back, “But we’re talkin one zone appearing inside a totally different one. And you wouldn’t know this, but that Chemical Plant place? Not even supposed to be on my ISLAND. All gross with that chemical stuff…”

Knuckles crouched to pass under a few roots.

Sonic slowed. He reached through the darkness to feel what Knuckles had ducked under. Using his hands to guide him, Sonic passed under as well. "You can actually see down here?"

Knuckles slowly scanned the ceiling as they walked. “Something arose in the Emerald Altar. And as I thought, it’s causing communication errors enough to affect the zones.”

“Oh~ a something? What kind of something?”

Knuckles only side-eyed him as they started down a decline in the tunnel.

Sonic wished for a glimpse of Knuckles' facial expression. Or an indication of his mood at all. But the darkness made it impossible. Instead, letting his eyes wander the damp walls, Sonic tried to get some indication of where they were.

“...Co-mmu-ni-cation huh?” Sonic murmured the word slowly. “You mean like, between emeralds or something?”

A shock of pain smacked into Sonic’s nose. He had walked straight into Knuckles, without realizing the echidna had come to a stop.

Knuckles turned, "Careful.”

“I’m good!” Sonic squeaked with tears in his eyes.

Knuckles simply nodded. Without warning, he launched straight up and started drilling through the ceiling.

“Dah, geez!” Sonic shielded his eyes.

A flurry of dirt thwumped against Sonic's side. He waited for the barrage to die down. Then he peeked up.

Warm sunlight poured in through the darkness. Dust particles glimmered on the air. Sonic followed the beam of light up with his eyes to see a newly dug hole leading towards the surface.

Knuckles was nowhere to be found. So, after dusting off, Sonic hoisted himself up through the ceiling.

His head poked out from a mound of dirt. The air was clear. And bright. Awkwardly, he climbed onto the grass and got to his feet.

Leaning ruins stood silhouetted over his head. In the distance, enormous spire-like mountains jutted high against the blue sky. They were countless, layering behind one another as far as the eye could see. As steep as they were, tangled vegetation ran wild across their rocky ledges and crowded thick into a jungle below. There, dilapidated temples and pillars stood in ruin amongst the overgrown trees.

Knuckles was looking out, over the remnants of the civilization that once inhabited the striking landscape. “...The best course of action is collecting the Chaos Emeralds. But I must stay at the altar and focus on subduing the zonal disturbances.”

Sonic smacked his back, “Ah, don’t sweat it, Knux! I’ll get this fixed up for ya lickity-split!”

Unbudging, Knuckles shifted his gaze to him. “Marble Garden Zone has more Giant Rings than any other on my island. You can obtain all seven Chaos Emeralds here.”

Sonic stood in shock at his immediate acceptance. But then, looking out across the zone, Sonic slowly grinned. “That's... why you went and brought me straight here? Knowing I’d just up n volunteer to get the emeralds??”

Knuckles only smirked. All Sonic could do was laugh.

“Allllright, alright. You do your whatever mysterious altar thing.” Sonic started stretching his legs. “I got my part~ I’ll nab all the emeralds and meet you there!”

“You’ll collect one at a time.”

“Tff- that’d take forever. Runnin back n forth to you?”

“It’s not necessary for you to come to Hidden Palace.” Knuckles cut off Sonic’s next words by raising his hand. “It will become clear when you have the first emerald in hand. I’ll speak to you through the Master Emerald.”

Sonic finished stretching and shrugged, “Sounds weird, but okay. I trust ya.”

“Sonic.”

Sonic looked.

“...The emeralds are no light matter. I am your ally as long as you remain mine.”

Sonic nodded casually at the statement.

“I must go. Please hurry.”

When Knuckles disappeared down through the hole, Sonic, amused by this new adventure, grinned and leapt off into the jungle.

 

Two voices--one very tiny and one very big--called again and again, over the distance, for the lost little fox. Ten, then thirty minutes passed. The only answer back was the steady patter of rain. Still, they called.

Amy wandered from Mighty’s side during the search. The zone's strange gravity was impossible to resist. She skipped sideways up the walls and waved to him upside-down from ceilings. She even discovered it possible to walk effortlessly up and around loops without falling. As the search went on, however, she kept closer to him, and now, lagged behind.

Mighty stopped. He noticed Amy struggling with the strange device she had been carrying since they met. “Why, Little Rose, why don’t you let me carry that-... w-what is it that you have there?”

“An Emerald Reader! Tails made it. Want to see, Mighty?”

“Well, of course,” he smiled as she handed it up, though he looked nervous to touch it. He leaned his bindle against his body to hold the reader with both hands. “Neat!”

Amy nodded happily. “Tails can make anything!”

“Do you suppose,” Mighty began, looking up at the clouds, “the rain might damage it?”

“Oh actually, it’s already broken.”

“Ahh…” Mighty opened his bindle and slid the device in.

“But, it’s made from Eggman’s robot parts. His dumb robots always work underwater. So it’s okay to get a little wet.”

“E-Eggman?”

Suddenly, Amy gasped and balled her fists. “Mighty!! Can you carry me too?”

Mighty’s nervousness dissipated. He cheerfully held his arm out for her. She sat, and after being hoisted up, looked around from the new vantage point.

“Am I heavy?”

“Not at all!” Mighty laughed as she hugged onto his head.

They set off again. Mighty strolled to the mellow, punchy beat. Amy watched with elation as he stepped over a 90-degree drop, and started walking down the new side. There, a blossoming meadow rolled out before them. Waterfalls cascaded sideways, parallel to the ground, in wide arcs over the grass and flowers. Churning, whirling mist drizzled from the falls and nourished the thick, bustling beds of flowers and vegetation at their feet. The ends of the falls poured sideways into the blue sky.

“I sure love this place, Mighty!”

“Me tooooooo,” he agreed.

They watched each waterfall rush over their heads as they passed under.

“See now. Every direction in this zone is up. So anyone venturing this land will never fall.”

“Yeah! It’s so fun!”

“Whoops,” Mighty noticed. He came to a stop as a shadow passed over them. A huge land shard, the size of a four-story building, was drifting in towards them. He reached out. Slowly, it pressed into his palm, and came to a stop. “Careful now, rock friend! We’re here below you.”

“Do they run into each other a lot?”

“Mm,” he pondered thoughtfully.

“And Mighty?”

“Hm?”

She pointed, “If there’s no down, how come waterfalls go off the edges?”

While supporting the weight of the land shard, Mighty followed her finger in the direction of the waterfall closest to them. He realized, for the first time, that contrary to how physics acted upon their bodies, the waterfalls were being dragged right off the land shards. Vertigo swept over as he watched the rushing waters plunge sideways into the sky.

Mighty stuttered, “You know, I… I plum don’t know.”

He flexed his fingers. Just enough to nudge the land shard to a standstill in the air. Then, very slowly, he pulled Amy closer and edged onto the “right-side up” side of a boulder.

“Mighty! Don’t be scared!”

“I am!” Mighty laughed.

 

Knuckles emerged from a pillar of light. His feet touched down upon the red, glassy, glowing orb of the teleporter. Its light dimmed as it powered down.

There he stayed.

His chest felt wobbly. His pounding heart smothered out the sacred melody of Hidden Palace. Still, he stepped forward, off the teleporter. His shoes met with the floor’s tapestry of polished turquoise tiles.

He walked now through the hallway that lay just before the Emerald Altar.

It was quiet. Dark. Empty. Except for the stark sounds of his footsteps.

The faintly-lit mosaic upon the wall slowly passed him by. He looked at it only from the corner of his eye.

Deep, soft hums reached his ears. The light was growing.

Ahead, seven colors glowed through the darkness. The Super Emeralds. Their brilliant facets casted rainbow shards of light across every face of the cavern.

Each Super Emerald rested upon a pedestal. Together, all seven formed a ring. In the center of the ring, floating high atop a bed of crystals, rested the massive, powerful stone--the Master Emerald.

Knuckles climbed the short steps leading to the altar, upon which the gems rested. Once he reached the top, he knelt down on one knee in reverence before the ancient entities.

Deep, profound hums enfolded the room. They emanated from the powerful gems. Knuckles' gaze was fixed down, upon his own image reflecting off the intricate turquoise tiles. Orange and violet light refracted over his reflection. Slowly, he closed his eyes.

“I hope this is what I am to do.”

He stayed still, as if waiting for guidance. There was none.

Knuckles leapt into the air and made his way towards the altar of the Master Emerald. He landed softly beside it. His eyes looked deep into its brilliant facets, the same way he always had, as far back as he could remember.

“I know the ancient teachings,” Knuckles acknowledged to himself. He placed his hands upon the smooth surface of the stone. “...So, I will follow them.”

He released a slow, deliberate breath.

For a brief moment, the music seemed to soften. The thrum of the sacred gems rolled formidably, powerfully over the room, over him. Concentrating on only the sound of the Master Emerald, Knuckles stood silent until it became almost like a heartbeat inside him.

Gently, the Master Emerald’s glow began increasing. One by one, the Super Emeralds followed suit. The light inside the lesser emeralds appeared to grow agitated. Incited by the will of the Guardian, the light beneath their facets flashed, flickered, in a dance of accelerating energy.

Knuckles murmured four ancient words.

Seven shafts of light pierced the air. Seven colors blasted skyward in a rage. Seven roaring gems.

Then the lights vanished.

Where once seven colors circled the Master Emerald, now none. Left behind were seven gray jewels, lightless and empty.

 

“First emerald, comin up!” Sonic announced.

He was freefalling along a steep mountainside. He had forgotten how indiscernible the Marble Garden ruins were from the natural geology of the zone. As caverns and rock formations rushed past him, he wondered whether they were actually ancient archways, windows, facades--whether the mountain itself was architecture worn bare by the passage of time.

The jungle approached below. Not wanting to be troubled by vegetation, Sonic landed on a lone pillar jutting through the treetops.

He looked up towards the adjacent mountain. There he spotted the landmark he was looking for--a cavern. While not much different from the countless other caverns in Marble Garden Zone, this he remembered to be a secret room that housed a Giant Ring.

Sonic jumped off the pillar and leapfrogged his way across pieces of ruins towards the hiding spot.

 

Amy tugged on Mighty’s hand, “Mighty.”

He looked down, “Yes?”

“We’re where I started.”

“Here?” Mighty glanced around.

The two stood on the small land shard that Amy had first landed on. Mighty let go of Amy's hand and searched around the general area. But when he couldn't find what he was looking for, he made a perplexed sound, and turned back to Amy. “...Tell me. How did you two get here, Little Rose?”

“From the sky,” Amy answered while pointing up. “A weird thing happened. Then we fell!”

Mighty wondered at her explanation. “You... fell from a flying device of some kind?”

She shook her head. “Mighty, we were on land, and then suddenly, in the SKY.”

“Really! What an adventure!" He laughed. "Though, I’m--still not quite sure what you mean.”

“Me neither,” Amy sighed. “West Side Island is really weird, huh.”

“This? Little Rose, this isn’t West Side Island.”

“But Tails told me it was...”

Mighty's ears perked. He seemed struck with a thought. “Where were you, right before you fell?”

“A place callllled… Hilly Zone, I think.”

Mighty nodded as if this confirmed his thought.

Just then, a beeping sound interrupted behind him. Mighty turned, but the strange sound stayed behind his head.

“The reader!” Amy grabbed Mighty's bindle and pulled the Emerald Reader out. “Maybe there’s an emerald!”

Mighty turned back around when he felt her let go of the bindle.

Amy beamed, “It’s not broken! Well, the screen is, but I’ll follow the beeps.”

“Just don’t wander from this land here,” Mighty told her as she skipped off.

He turned his attention to the drizzling sky. While blinking through raindrops, and scanning the clouds where Amy must have entered the zone, he wondered slowly to himself, “It must have been... a zone hop?”

The beeping, which had gradually quieted in volume, now grew louder again. Amy had already returned. Mighty watched as she meandered around, following the reader’s signal. Finally, she pointed the reader straight at Mighty to reveal that the beeps were strongest there.

She lit up, “It thinks you’re an emerald!”

“ME?!” Mighty laughed. “How kind.”

“Do you have one?”

Mighty chuckled. “Sorry, Little Rose.”

Amy’s face fell. She experimented a bit more with the device, but eventually turned it off.

“There is good news though,” Mighty smiled. “I’m certain that your Tails is safe and sound back on West Side Island. Let’s go there.”

“Okay! How do we get out of here?”

“I’ll show you.”

 

Vines dangled in dark silhouette over the entrance of a cavern. Sonic spin dashed from below and landed inside.

The normally dim space was lit by a Giant Ring rotating at the end of the room. Sonic took a running start and jumped right into its center.

After a flash of light, a checkerboard pattern materialized beneath his feet. A new song sprang to life.

Sonic jogged in place enthusiastically, “I love this sooong!”

Having navigated these Special Stages twenty times or more on his last visit to Angel Island, Sonic found them relaxing and fun. He savored the easy music as he passed through blue spheres, jumped over the red ones, and bounced off starred ones. In no time, the stage was cleared. Already the green Chaos Emerald was revealing itself to him. Without much time to prepare, Sonic blew out a loud breath.

“Here we go.”

He reached forward.

White streaks of energy radiated from the gem. Long lines of light casted through the air. The lines widened. And widened. Until emerald green poured forth.

Sonic felt his palm touch the stone. A dull power rolled over his body. Then. It ruptured open. Surging through him. Thousands of shades of green glimmered across Sonic’s vision. Until he almost felt as if he would disappear.

Suddenly, a feeling from inside--something like adrenaline. It swelled to an incredible peak. And then it locked against the power of the emerald pouring into him.

Sonic's ears buzzed. All seemed to calm. His mind swam.

Slowly he realized--a voice. Muffled. Its sounds repeated in his mind. But he couldn’t understand them. He remembered Knuckles. The voice was his. It warbled in, out. His name. His own name was being repeated.

“Sonic? Sonic. Concentrate, Sonic.” Knuckles’ voice broke through. “I am speaking to you through the Master Emerald.”

Sonic laughed breathlessly. “You’re an echidna of your word!”

“Tell me where you are.”

“Sure!” Sonic said, still shaken. “Well, uh… white. It’s all white.”

“Listen closely," Knuckles told him. "You are at the core of the Chaos Emerald’s hidden dimension. Right now, the emerald is within you, channeling its power through yo-”

“Woaaah, you’re soundin alllll echoey... Do I sound echoey too, to you?”

There was a pause. Then a chuckle from Knuckles. “You do sound echoey.”

“I don’t get what’s goin on,” Sonic said with captivation.

“Concentrate, Sonic. This is a precarious position.”

“Oh.”

“You need to reconnect the Chaos Emerald inside you with its Super Emerald, here at the altar.”

Sonic nodded. “Alright, redo their connections. ...How do ya do that?”

“You will do it by way of a vision-”

“A vision,” Sonic repeated skeptically.

“Do as I say, and the Chaos Emerald will show you Hidden Palace. From there you can direct its power to its correspon-”

Sonic interrupted again, “Oh hey what?? Yeah, I done this before!” When there was no answer from Knuckles, he continued, “I’d get a Super Emerald from a Special Stage, and then I’d see like the huge gray jewel I’d stepped on just before, then ‘ding!’ It’d turn all bright and colorful.”

Silence.

“Uh, Knuckles? You there?”

Knuckles almost whispered, “...So it was you restoring the Super Emeralds back then.”

“Yeah,” Sonic remarked at the obvious statement. “Who’dja think it was? Eggman?” Though the question was meant to be sarcastic, Sonic remembered Knuckles's words--that he thought Eggman was an ally to the emeralds. So he gasped. “...You... did, didn’t you?”

But Knuckles seemed to ignore his remark. “This is good. Do as you did before.”

Sonic blinked a few times. “...Okay, but this time you interrupted. And, I got no idea how to! I didn’t even know I was doing it. It just sorta happened.”

“My purpose in the first place was to instruct you on how to do it.”

“Oh yeah,” Sonic realized.

“But I tell you now to trust your instincts. You will do as you did before.”

Sonic, having no idea what Knuckles meant, but feeling surprisingly confident in his words, closed his eyes. He tried to concentrate on the gem’s energy buzzing inside him. To allow it overtake his senses.

It felt like a rush of wind. Blue wiped silently over. The deepest blue.

There, in the darkness, was a pinprick of soft light. A small green glow. Sonic watched it grow outwards in erratic bursts. But he realized, it was not growing. He was rushing towards it. Closer, closer. Then all at once, there it was. The Master Emerald. A figure he recognized as Knuckles, and in the next moment, his face, clear as day. Another blink, and he had rushed past them, towards a gray gem.

With a flash, the Super Emerald lit up. Sonic hardly had a chance to see it before everything swept away in a green.

“Hah! I did it!”

His back smacked into something. The Super Emerald was gone. Hidden Palace was gone.

“Knuckles?”

The Guardian was gone as well.

Sonic was lying on solid ground. It was dark. But when he sat up, he saw a source of light. It came through the cavern's entrance. Behind it, a narrow view of Marble Garden Zone's grand, spiring mountains peeked in.

“Oh yeah…”

Sonic hopped to his feet.

“Welp! On to number two!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading chapter 6! I hope you're liking all the ~mysterious~ emerald things!
> 
> Keep in mind that this story takes place in the classic canon, so the emerald altar looks how it does in Sonic 3 & Knuckles. That's also why Super Emeralds exist in this story. If you wanna see how the altar or the Super Emeralds look (and other things), check out the chapter notes below.
> 
> [Chapter 6 Notes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/11abA7mW-mIc253UiyHMikTNXOcnSXmzbAPugRH4VoK0/edit?usp=sharing)  
> (Just press back to return to this page)


	7. Chapter 7

Grass drifted slowly past beneath one foot, then another. Tails watched the blades silently as he walked. For many days, he had wandered Hill Top Zone. Searching for, waiting for the strange anomaly--the glowing grid--to appear again. He hoped it would take him back to where Amy was. Or appear at all. But, here in this lonely zone, he remained.

Against his ears, Tails felt the wind gently rise. He came to a stop.

“Amy…”

Finally, he lifted his eyes from the ground and watched the plumes of hot steam rise from between the mountains. “If only I could just get back to you…” He sniffed. His face bunched up with sadness. "...I was supposed to help you..."

Tails sat at a blue rock, and cried.

 

Just as Tails passed into the shade of Aquatic Ruin's forest canopy, he thought he heard his name called in the distance. He kept on. Uninterested.

The voice grew closer. Two, three more times he heard it. Until he recognized it as Pecky, the little penguin. She spotted him from a broken terrace amongst the ruins.

“Tail-! There you are!! You were gone so long!” Pecky slid from the terrace to the ground and hurried over to him. “Where have you been?”

“Hill Top Zone…”

Pecky slowed at the tone of his voice. “...What’s wrong?”

Heavily, the little fox explained everything. How zones seemed to have overlapped one another. How he and Amy teleported to different places in the blink of an eye. The last state he had seen Amy in. The days that had passed since then. Pecky remained quiet, until Tails reached the present, with barely the words to admit he had decided to head back home.

In a hushed voice, she murmured, “I’m so sorry, Tails…”

Tails sniffed, almost angrily at himself.

“I’ve never heard of anything like that.” Pecky touched his shoe, “You... should really rest. Have you eaten?”

He didn’t answer.

“...Maybe I can gather all the animals, to help look for her while you do.”

Tails only nodded.

Pecky nodded too. Slowly, she turned, and started walking. Tails followed.

“The zones must be shifting,” Pecky murmured. “Some people are saying, there’s different music coming from the same direction as Chemical Plant Zone. And that things are moving around more than usual in the zones. But what happened to you in Hill Top... that... that sounds scary.”

Tails had no answer to give. And a silence settled over as they continued on together.

In time, they came upon a flooded area of the ruins. Tails crossed using stepping stones laid there long ago, while Pecky dove in and swam briskly to the other side.

Once they joined again, Pecky looked hesitant. “If you ask me… Well, what happened in Hill Top? You know what it's kind of reminding me of?”

Half-listening, Tails looked down at her.

“Woods Zone.”

Tails stood silent. Even as Pecky started forward again, he didn't move. Those two words, that had in the past struck him cold with fear, now churned attentively through his mind. His eyes went wide.

 

Snatching first a glass jar, a coil of rope, a few small electronic devices--Tails stuffed each of these items into a brown backpack in a rush through his treehouse.

“Tails, don’t,” Pecky warned.

Tails threw the bag over his shoulder and ran to the door.

“Tails, just wait a seco-! You can’t go to Woods Zone! It's a haunted zone!”

The little fox turned the knob, and pushed the door open. “...I know.”

 

Green, orange, blue. The three colors glowed steadily beneath the altar of the Master Emerald. Already Sonic had restored these three Super Emeralds amongst the total seven. Knuckles stood ready, maintaining connection with the Master Emerald, in the event Sonic needed a hand with the rest.

An energy emerged inside the room. Tiny lights, like water droplets, circled one of the empty gray gems. They converged upon it, and in a voltaic wave of power, its dull tone was flooded out by shimmering, fiery white. The white Super Emerald.

With the fourth Super Emerald fully restored, the chamber was cast into a heightened brilliance. Knuckles looked with careful satisfaction at the progress.

Since Sonic wouldn’t reach the next Giant Ring for another few minutes, Knuckles thought to give his arm a rest. He slid his hand off of the Master Emerald. He looked down at his palm, and flexed his fingers in and out.

Behind, a glint of purple caught his eye.

 

“Quite peculiar, isn’t it!” hollered Mighty over the sound of roaring water.

Amy investigated a strange, geometric stone object. It looked long weathered. The surface was covered with such a spectrum of moss that the original color was difficult to make out. Beneath the growth were rows of strangely-shaped holes. Symbols perhaps, carved deep into the stone.

Amy squinted into the holes, “This can take us away from here?”

“Pardon?” Mighty asked loudly.

The two stood upside-down on the underside of a cliff. A waterfall cascaded over the topside in a constant roar beside them.

Instead of shouting, Amy motioned Mighty to come closer. He bent down.

“This can take us out of here?” she repeated.

He nodded cheerfully.

“But what is it?”

Mighty rubbed his cheek, “I haven’t an idea... But, it allowed me to discover this wonderful zone! Now,” he picked her up. “I’ll show you how it works. Let’s go together.”

Mighty stepped up and planted both feet atop the stone. The weight seemed to activate a pleasant, musical hum. Soft light began to glow behind the carvings. Slowly, the light leaked upwards, surrounding them in a translucent rectangle. As it grew increasingly opaque, the hum also grew in volume. Gradually all sights, all sounds of the zone gently erased from their senses.

When the light dissipated, Amy saw a sparkling night sky. Stars glimmered across a blanket of deep, dark purple.

Looking around, she saw white hills that sat stark against the evening sky. They seemed to be made of sand. The further they retreated into the distance, the increasingly warm their colors. White warmed to yellow, to pastel orange, to gentle rosy pink. The tips of these dunes wisped on the breeze, moving in time to a gentle, twinkling melody.

“Oooo, it looks like a dream…” Amy admired.

Mighty admired with her.

“...What is this place?”

“It has no name," Mighty told her. "At least, not that I’m familiar.”

“How about… Dream Desert Zone!”

Mighty laughed.

Amy climbed down from his arms, and onto the ground. The sand was soft and plush. Springy, like a bed. She bounced her weight on it a few times, and wondered what type of sand this could possibly be.

“If you’ll believe it,” Mighty smiled. “...They’re actually clouds.”

The little hedgehog welled up with with huge, twinkling eyes. The evening dreamscape reflected perfectly inside them. “We’re in the clouds?!”

Mighty nodded.

Amy eagerly hunkered down, then jumped in huge leaps through the air.

“Whee! Wheeee! Look at this!” She attempted a flip, but landed on all fours, and bounced high. “Mighty! Jump, Mighty, too!”

He happily complied. The two bounded back and forth, this way and that across the cottony landscape.

“Come on!” Mighty offered his hand out to her.

They locked arms and jumped in tandem. Which didn’t last long. Amy’s strides were so much bigger, that they both stumbled and fell in a poof of clouds.

Amy got up right away and jumped over him. “I love this zone!”

“So do I!”

“Hey, what about the one we were in before?”

“Oh? What do you mean?”

“What should we call it?”

Mighty sat up and patted fluff off the back of his arms, “Um… Sideways… Water Zone…”

“Rainy Realm Zone!”

“Rainy Rale- I can’t even say it,” Mighty laughed at himself.

Before Amy could suggest another name, the pink surroundings flashed to metallic green. She tripped and smacked flat on her chest. The ground was no longer pillowy. It was hard and cold. The gentle melody was replaced with mechanical hums.

Amy looked around. She was on a moving conveyor belt. Beside her she spotted Mighty, curled in a ball and bouncing away.

“Mighty!”

She pounced and caught him.

The end of the conveyor belt came up fast. Amy ran with all her might against it. But its speed couldn't be overcome.

They dropped over. Amy shouted.

Another conveyor belt broke their fall. Mechanical thrums and squeals bombarded from above and below. There was no place to go. Metal walls enclosed them on either side.

Mighty came to his senses. He straightened out and took hold of Amy.

“L-little Rose, are you al-”

“Look out!”

Mighty immediately hunkered beneath his shell, and in the same moment, Amy stepped forward and cracked her hammer across a huge buzzsaw. It swung away. But a second one came spinning in. She dove, pushed Mighty and herself to the ground, making them both squeak just under the blade.

The whir of a third buzzsaw. Amy readied her hammer. "Stay away, you saw!"

But she was yanked from her feet. Mighty, clutching Amy in his arms, curled over to shield her from the mayhem. Saw teeth shattered against his shell. He braced for another. But the conveyor belt ended. The two fell downwards. They tumbled onto yet another conveyor belt.

Panicked, Mighty thrust out his arms. They shoved against either wall. His fingers bore straight through the metal. Lines carved into the walls as the conveyor belt dragged his hands along.

Mighty felt his hands catch onto inner beams. The conveyor belt buckled beneath his shoes. A long, grating groan shuddered from the inner workings. The sound rose to a screech. After a series of strained clacks, the machine slowed, then finally stopped.

Amy lifted herself from the ground. She glanced around at the stalled mechanics. Then, she quickly went over to her friend. "Mighty! Did you get hurt?"

Mighty stayed as he was, in shock.

"Ow," Amy flinched. She looked down to investigate her scraped knee.

Colors whirled by again. It became pink.

They were back in Dream Desert Zone. Amy saw a glowing grid pulsing by. She latched onto Mighty.

“It’s the weird thing! Don’t get separated!”

“Wha-”

They were jerked sideways.

Pitch black. Cold, hollow. They felt themselves falling through a narrow space.

The walls squeezed in. Mighty felt his shell scuff up against them. Closer and closer they scraped, until he became wedged, and stopped their fall.

“Owww…” Amy felt around in the dark. She patted one of Mighty’s ears and realized she was sitting on him. “Oh! Mighty.”

“Yes…?”

“That was the thing! The thing that made me and Tails fall!”

She could feel him tense, but he said nothing.

“Mighty?”

“I think… I’m stuck,” he strained.

Amy's eyes had adjusted more to the dark. She could at least see Mighty's yellow arm against his black fur. She took hold of it, and pulled. It didn’t help.

Although Mighty couldn't move his head, he was able to make out light flickering distantly above them. Lanterns, he guessed. Just enough of their light touched the walls to reveal hints of green in the darkness. “Mystic Cave," Mighty observed. "Glad it’s somewhere familiar...”

Amy was trying to angle the handle of her hammer behind Mighty’s shell. "Don't worry, Mighty! I'll make the cave let go of you."

There wasn’t much space to work with. After several attempts, she managed to cram the hammer between his shell and the cavern wall. Amy leaned all her weight into the other end. Mighty felt his back budge.

“Hoo! Feels ssso much better already.”

“Careful! Don’t fall more.”

Mighty nodded and sat up. “...I uh. I think I see what you mean now. About the weird thing.”

 

Up a gentle slope, Sonic walked. He looked flustered as he swiveled his head this way and that. Having exhausted his knowledge of ring locations along Marble Garden’s upper route, he now wandered the lower area, which he was completely unfamiliar.

He came to a pause beside an ancient building that didn’t quite reach the jungle canopy.

“Hnnnn. Knuckles SAYS there’s a ton of Giant Rings here, but he’s the one who’s got em all memorized.”

Sonic sighed listlessly. He rolled a rock under his shoe. The lull gave him a chance to admire the light filtering in through the leaves. Bright, shining shapes casted down across the grass, and along the outside walls of the ancient building. For a moment he wondered who could have created such a structure, and why. But having found many things about his world unexplainable, and lost to time, he shrugged it off.

During the aimless running about, he ended up inside a cave, or perhaps a temple swallowed by the tectonics of the earth. He considered this as he observed precise rows of yellow and purple tiles fastened to the walls.

His feet crunched over a pile of rubble. He tilted his head thoughtfully. It must have been caused from something above.

Lifting his eyes to the ceiling, Sonic saw a large hole hollowed into it. Drill marks scored its edges.

“Oh yeeeah,” he recalled, “this is where that one driller bot thing was all-WA-!”

His foot busted through the ground. In a chain reaction, the surrounding bricks collapsed and sent him tumbling down into a lower room.

Sonic coughed. Dust puffed out.

“Guess they're called ruins for a reason...”

He got up and shoved the large pieces of rubble away from him. But when his ears caught a steady whooshing sound, he stopped.

Beside him, a Giant Ring spun in the air.

“Oh!”

 

Dark blue and light blue checkerboard whizzed beneath Sonic’s feet. He hummed with joy to the music.

This Special Stage was more maze-like than the others. Each section appeared identical to the rest. Sonic remembered how he lost his way last time and ended up trapping himself with red spheres. In fact, he was trapped again. Red spheres lined every side, boxing him in.

He picked up speed to make a leap over them. But the blue checkerboard suddenly changed to orange. For an instant, the obstacles scattered into a completely different arrangement. Then, they all snapped back to normal as the floor returned to blue.

“WHAAA!!”

A white bumper sphere. Sonic smacked into it and flew backwards. With a sproing, he shot forward again. He ricocheted again and again between the two bumpers. He jumped free. Just barely, he had enough momentum to hurdle himself over the red spheres in front of him.

“You trying to cheat??” he asked the surroundings.

The next section revealed itself--one he hadn’t traveled yet, with a large group of blue spheres. The last group, he hoped. The moment he passed through them all, time slowed, and the stage began unwinding.

“Easy~”

The Chaos Emerald, rich, red, touched into his palm. A spectacle of crimson poured out. Bright shards of hot oranges and pinks gleamed inside.

Sonic felt a terrible sensation bubble up.

A terrible power.

Electrified purple split through dimensions. It bursted beneath some enormous pressure, like boiling water blistering beneath a lid.

Sonic saw a streak of red. A shrinking streak. All at once he realized--the purple energy was drowning out the emerald he had in hand. He fought through to concentrate, concentrate, concentrate on the red force dwindling beneath his grasp. He tried to remember Hidden Palace. Hidden Palace.

There it was. No. He couldn’t see it at all. He struggled to keep control of anything. In desperation, he blindly forced the red Chaos Emerald through, hoping it would go where it needed to.

All sorts of colors and glitching shapes danced in his vision. Jarringly, he landed, on his feet, and stumbled backwards. Everything was gone.

“...What was that.”

Slowly, Sonic looked around.

“And why am I… here? Launch Base?”

A view overlooking a wide lake. He saw the unmistakable, abandoned remnants of Eggman’s cranes and launch towers. It indeed was Launch Base Zone.

Sonic shook his head to get ahold of himself. A static-y, electrical feeling prickled between his spines. As he moved forward, the same sensation tingled at his feet and hands. He glanced down. The surroundings glitched from his fingertips as he walked.

“Woah,” he said seriously, and came to a stop.

The glitched pixels remained there, frozen--in the air and over the ground. He didn’t budge. After a few seconds, he could move his arms again without distorting the zone further. But the glitched areas remained.

“...Am I taking too long to get the emeralds?”

Shaken, Sonic looked around again. He had to hurry. He tried to recall where he may have seen a Giant Ring at Eggman’s old base, but his mind was buzzing. He ran forward on wobbly legs.

 

On the outskirts of Emerald Hill Zone, Tails slowed his tails and landed down. He set Pecky onto the ground beside him. Together, they stood in front an old, makeshift fence. Passersby were warned with an ominous message. A sign read the words:

DANGER  
HAUNTED

Tails used his eyes to follow the palette changes near the fence’s perimeter. Occasional pixels of magenta dotted the grass at his feet. But further on, magenta overwhelmed the green in vivid stripes. Groups of normal-colored flowers shifted to black, and were haloed by bizarre, alternating flashes of red and white.

Tails took in a big breath, and stepped forward.

“Please don’t,” Pecky pleaded again.

“I’ll be alright. I’ll be careful.”

“Tails, you don’t know,” she insisted, holding one of his tails. “People, they-they disappear in there. That’s why it’s forbidden. It’s not normal. Nothing in there is normal.”

“But people will keep…” his eyes wandered. “Getting hurt by this zone stuff if somebody doesn’t try to learn something about it.”

“You can’t learn anything in there.”

Tails hesitated. He finally looked at Pecky. At her fearful eyes.

Shrugging his backpack straps into a better position, Tails went forward, and climbed over the fence.

 

In a small meadow at the mouth of a cave, Mighty sat bandaging Amy’s knee. “I’m so happy you didn’t get too hurt, considering...”

“Thanks, Mighty!” Amy sang as he finished.

They hugged. Mighty set her to her feet from the rock she had been sitting on.

Amy asked, “Did you get hurt anywhere?”

“No,” he answered, sheepishly. “I’m usually lucky with that, I suppose.”

She took his hand, “I’ll make sure you don’t get hurt!”

Mighty reacted with a slight tearing up, despite himself.

Having navigated Mystic Cave Zone, Mighty now allowed Amy to lead them through Hill Top in the direction of Tails’ house. Their return to West Side Island didn’t go unnoticed. Along the way, they ran into a small group of animals, who looked excited to see them.

“Amy!”

“We found you!” several cheered in unison.

“We found her, everyone!”

“You know me?” Amy asked.

“We can all go to Tails’ house now, and surprise him!”

“Who is this with you?”

“This is my friend Mighty!”

“Mighty the Armadillo,” he introduced, extending his hand.

More animals joined as they passed through, equally thrilled that Amy was safe and sound.

 

“Ah, sorry,” Mighty stuttered. He had bumped his head onto the doorway to Tails’ Eating Room.

Everyone laughed.

“You’re too tall for this house, Mighty!”

“Sorry!” he laughed.

Inside the Eating Room, Amy and Mighty enjoyed their fill of grilled cheese sandwiches. The animals gathered round, eager to hear what had happened to Amy during her mysterious disappearance. So, she told them.

“That sounds so magical! You fell from the sky! Except... scary!”

“Yeah and those zones! I want to see them.”

“NOT the one with saws.”

“Oh yeah.”

“Good thing Mighty was there and knew how to help you out of all those places!”

“Yeah, what would’ve happened…?”

Mighty chuckled, “Don’t be so sure.” He was returning plates back into the cupboard. “There’s no one like our Little Rose. She surely would have found her way, no matter what.”

Amy beamed.

The animals continued their chatter. “We better be careful though, if all this strange stuff is happening.”

“Yeah, even though bouncing in the clouds sounds fun…”

As the others conversed, Mighty sat back down, and looked out the window. Leaves fluttered on the breeze. He watched them, gratefully. A few minutes passed when he turned his attention back to everyone else. "...Where has Little Tails gone off to anyway?”

The animals went silent.

Mighty and Amy’s expressions lowered.

“What?” Mighty asked slowly.

“He um, went to a place called... Woods Zone.”

Another added, “That place is creepy...”

Mighty shot to his feet in horror. “An alpha zo-?? What is he-??”

Amy got up too, “An alpha zone?!”

“Rose, stay here.” Mighty grabbed his bindle and went for the door. Amy followed, even as he stopped, changed his mind, and leaned the bindle back against the wall.

“Mighty, I’ll help you!”

“No, Rose.”

“But Mighty, I told you that I’d-”

He knelt down, and held her shoulders. “Please. Stay here, and wait for me.”

Amy’s mouth fidgeted. But she nodded. “Okay, Mighty.”

Mighty left. The entire room jolted as the door slammed behind him. Items from shelves toppled to the ground. The bindle, too, fell over. The Emerald Reader inside switched on and began beeping.

No one moved, or dared say a thing.

“...I hope they’ll be okay,” someone finally murmured, after the long pause.

“I try to stay away from those places,” another said. “Tails’ sense of science is going to get the better of him one day.”

Amy frowned and bent down to open the bindle. “Tails is my friend. I wish I could help too.”

When she opened the bag, she saw something, and let out a short scream. The animals darted to all corners of the room to hide. They peeked out slowly to see Amy, simply staring down at the bindle.

Inside the bag, next to the Emerald Reader, was a light blue Chaos Emerald.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are picking up now! What keeps happening to the zones and emeralds? What will happen to Tails? Why does Mighty have an emerald?
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Thank you for reading!!  
> If you'd like more info on Woods Zone, Dream Desert Zone, and other things referenced in this chapter, see the chapter notes below.
> 
> [Chapter 7 Notes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tjfqQ0RYcml1WDlwboOWOsG7s3zhaUYBUDAQlvlEH-o/edit?usp=sharing)  
> (Just press back to return to this page)


	8. Chapter 8

Sonic grabbed a zipline and rode the wide gap between two Launch Base structures. As the wind blew by, he looked into the distance, at the empty space between the towering cranes, where the Death Egg once laid, a moment, before letting go and touching onto solid ground.

Whirring ahead was a huge, rotating, metallic cylinder. Sonic ran onto it. His feet fixed to the surface like a magnet. It spun him slowly around and around as he ran. At the end, he leapt off and came to a stop in front of a wall of mismatched metal and brick.

From the yellow bricks jutted a purple checkered pipe. Sonic peered inside. Reflections of light danced against the pipe’s inner walls.

He climbed happily in. The pipe was big enough to accommodate his entire height. Sonic followed along until it opened to a square room inside the wall. There, tucked away, was a Giant Ring.

Sonic jumped through it. 

“Dwa-!”

His front smacked into a wall. He slid to the ground.

“Ugn, what the..”

As he sat up, Sonic glanced around. The same yellow bricks surrounded him. He was inside the same room. He hadn’t been teleported away to a Special Stage.

The room was dim and empty.

The Giant Ring was gone.

Sonic sped out of the pipe and took off towards the lake. A complex system of black and white water pipes began criss-crossing the landscape. He hopped onto one and ran its length until it plunged deep into the water. He took in a breath, and jumped in.

Beneath the lake, he found another pipe, and inside, another Giant Ring. This time, Sonic reached out to touch the ring, instead of jumping right through it. In a blink, the Giant Ring disappeared, just like the one before.

Sonic coughed as he pulled himself onto a platform at the water's surface.

“What gives…” He sat down slowly, and let his legs dangle in the cool water. “There’s still two more emeralds I gotta get.”

As he watched the ripples in the water, an uneasy feeling washed over him. The fear while retrieving the red Chaos Emerald played over in his mind. Sonic wondered whether the strange purple energy caused something to go wrong.

“I better ask Knuckles what to do.” 

Sonic closed his eyes. Centered his thoughts in. He wasn't sure whether he could reach Knuckles through the emeralds the same way he could reach him. But he had to try. Sonic focused on visualizing the Emerald Altar. On reaching Knuckles’ thoughts through the Master Emerald. 

He let out a long breath.

Then, his eyes snapped open.

“...Shoot! I don’t have an emerald to talk to him with!!”

Knuckles jogged out of the chamber that held the Emerald Altar. He thought he had sensed Sonic returning much sooner than he should. Sure enough, he found the ancient teleporter outside, glowing red. Out bounded Sonic, looking worried and out-of-breath.

“Sonic?" Knuckles reacted. "What’s wrong?” 

“Knuckles! Hey, did the red Super Emerald come back okay?” 

“It did.” 

Sonic’s shoulders dropped in a relieved sigh. 

“What happened? Why are you back?” Knuckles asked.

Sonic paused. He heard fatigue in the echidna’s voice. “Well, uhhh... Not--really sure. See, I keep tryina get through the Giant Rings, but they keep disappearing every time I try.” 

Knuckles’ eyes narrowed. “I don’t understand.”

Sonic shrugged playfully, “Wellll, I don’t either!”

Knuckles cast his eyes down in thought. “...This should not have happened yet.” 

Sonic expected him to elaborate on what “this” was. But Knuckles only stood silent, with his brow furrowed, as if trying to solve a riddle that had been presented to him. And his eyes. Sonic took a closer look. They looked tired.

“...Hey," Sonic said sincerely. "You holdin up alright?”

Knuckles didn’t answer.

Sonic sighed softly. He couldn't tell whether he was being ignored, or whether Knuckles was too caught up in his own thoughts to hear him. He tapped his foot a few times while waiting. But then he remembered more. He took a closer step to Knuckles, “And actually. Hey, Knuckles. When I was channeling the red emerald… I dunno, this purple energy stuff… it felt like it was, attacking me? Then stuff glitched all over the place! It took me to a totally different zone and-” He stopped, realizing Knuckles still wasn't paying attention to him.

But too bothered by previous events, Sonic continued on, “And I know the Special Stages are wacky, but when I was in one, the ground changed from blue to orange…”

Suddenly Knuckles was alert to his words. “Orange and what?”

“No, it changed from blue, to orange.”

“Orange and what else?” Knuckles pressed.

“Uh. Just orange.”

“It’s checkerboard. The ground of each Special Stage has two colors.”

Sonic scratched his head, “Uh, orange n lighter orange? They were both orange colors, Knuckles, I dunno.”

“As I thought…” Knuckles muttered to himself.

Sonic raised an eyebrow. As Knuckles continued isolated in his own thoughts, Sonic smirked, and slowly slid up to him. “Ya know. This alliance thing is starting to feel... a liiittle one-sided.”

“Would you like to stop then?” Knuckles offered.

“Uh! I-it’s not that!” Sonic blurted sheepishly. “I mean. I think you're thinkin I know way more than I actually do about all this emerald stuff. I’m like way in the dark here.”

“What you do know is sufficient," Knuckles answered simply. He turned to return to the Emerald Altar. "For now, we’ll have to skip to the next emerald. Get it from Mighty.” 

“M...wha? Mighty?”

“Yes.” 

“Ya lost me.”

Knuckles turned to him, “He’s on what you call West Side Island. You know the way?”

“Well. Yeah I guess? But why would he have one?”

“Because I gave it to him.” 

Sonic looked equally confused.

With a pause, and a meaningful look at Sonic, Knuckles seemed to be considering whether to say more. “...No one was meant to know. I asked him to keep it secret." His brow lowered. "...Seeing you control all seven Chaos Emeralds. It... it frightened me. I did not know it could be done. And I decided, that no person will have that chance again.” 

Sonic stared indignantly. “...This's about me?!”

“Partly.” Knuckles looked away. "You only opened my eyes to how vulnerable the emeralds are. And Eggman showed me how voracious someone can be, for their power."

These last words lingered heavily over their heads. In the silence, the sacred, somber melody of Hidden Palace again made itself known.

"Mighty's strength..." Knuckles began quietly. "It's unmatched. And he's always moving. As long as he has at least one Chaos Emerald, no person can control all seven."

Sonic put his hands on his hips. "...Ya know. You're hard to figure out, Knuckles. That's what I like about you."

Knuckles looked at him.

"I mean, that's a smart idea. But I never woulda thought someone like you could trust someone else like that!" Sonic laughed. "But at least it makes it easy. Mighty n I are good friends."

"So he has told me."

"Just, I'm not sure he's on West Side Island. He was on my island, last I saw him. And who knows where he could be now."

Knuckles’ expression was growing impatient. “When a Chaos Emerald is removed from its hidden dimension, I can sense its location. Mighty is where I tell you.”

“Okay, okay," Sonic chuckled. "You got an answer for everything, dontcha? Well! Unless you got some kinda shortcut, I gotta go all the way back to my island and fly the Tornado. And if Mighty's gone by then?”

“I can’t help with that. My tunnels reach only within my own island. And I don’t know the ancient pathways as Mighty does.” 

“Ancient pathw-? Oh! Wait. Ya mean the zone hops? Yeah, I don't know em either..." Sonic gave the dilemma a few seconds of thought. Then he sighed. "Guess I got no choice.” 

Knuckles turned, and headed back in the direction of the Emerald Altar.

Sonic watched him. “...You sure you gonna be okay all that time?” 

“Just hurry.” 

“Well wait!” Sonic hit his own head. “The hops! Mighty!” He ran up to Knuckles’ side. “He’s got an emerald? So like, talk to him through the Master Emerald and stuff, and he can hop here.”

Knuckles paused, and looked at him curiously. “...You’re not aware?”

Sonic blinked. 

“Your power is not common.”

“Power?” 

Knuckles rested a hand over Sonic’s chest. “You. Have power over the emeralds, within you. As I do.”

Sonic just stood, mystified.

Knuckles turned away. “That you have this power is beyond my understanding. But it still remains--Mighty is not like you or I. It’s not possible to reach him through the emeralds.” 

“Ya don’t say…” 

“Channel the Chaos Emerald once you meet with him. The only remaining then will be the purple one. I can’t say whether you’ll be able to reach it through a Giant Ring after that. But try, Sonic.”

Tails sensed something go dark. Something above. He slowed to a stop and looked upwards.

The sky's color had suddenly changed from its natural blue to a dark red. And it remained that way.

Tails hesitated. Then started forward again.

Tales of Woods Zone's dangers were passed on by the small animals from generation to generation. There was no one alive now who'd seen the zone for themselves. But a strong collective memory was shared by all West Side Islanders. Tails could imagine it clearly from the stories passed down. A treetop zone. Colors earthy and dark. A cool temperature. Pleasantly damp air. Trees so close together you could walk across branches as easily as if on land.

The treetops were always described as a wondrous, protective, and cozy place. It had once been the home of their ancestors. Before it all went wrong.

So to see the surroundings as they were, Tails felt uncertain. He had already traveled a significant distance into the alpha zone without seeing anything resembling these stories. It still looked like Emerald Hill Zone. A strange, discolored one.

Tails squinted as the sky flashed back to blue. Then back to dark red once more.

Something else started to flash in the distance. The clouds. They were no longer white. Instead, they were flickering in unnatural, ominous colors--sick greens, yellows, and reds. Giant, dark squares began appearing along the clouds' edges. Tails felt the fur on the back of his neck prickle up.

The music slowed and stretched. It deteriorated into freakish notes. 

Tails started running. 

Stripes of magenta grass rushed under his feet. He didn’t know what he was running from. But he couldn’t stop himself. Something was about to happen. He was sure of it. His mind raced with wild fears. As if the zone was ready to crash down on him, or split apart, or become overtaken by colors and erased from the planet.

His foot met with thin air. Tails watched his leg phase into the grass.

He fell straight through the ground.

Landing on all fours, Tails scrambled back into a run. It was pitch black. But moments later, the light returned. He was back on the grass. Tails slowed.

Turning around, he realized he had just emerged from the side of a checkered wall. Somehow the ground on the upper route had lost its solidity, which caused him to land on the lower route. Though the occurrence was bizarre, Tails felt relieved to make sense of it.

Something touched his tail from behind. Tails shrieked and jumped away.

There was nothing there.

Tails felt his heart really begin to pound. The stories warned of evil entities haunting the zone. Unsuspecting travelers were scared into or tricked into entering the most dangerous areas, where they would be trapped forever. But Tails shook his head. He had to remember the reason he was here. Amy. And he had to stop thinking about ancient rumors. All that mattered was learning what he could about this zone. As scary as it was. As he took a step forward, he imagined the brave faces of his friend Amy and his hero Sonic. They wouldn't be scared.

The tip of his shoe touched something solid. But there was nothing there. Just grass. Tails realized that maybe he hadn't imagined his tail being touched after all.

Reaching out with both hands, he felt his palms press against something flat and solid. Like a wall. But he couldn't see it.

He pushed against it. It didn’t budge.

“Is it… something invisible?”

Hesitantly, Tails started to fly up beside the wall, sliding a hand against it as he rose. After a few feet, his fingers no longer felt anything. The invisible wall must have ended. Tails leaned forward and landed down softly onto it--onto empty air.

“Woah…” 

With a light thump, the little fox jumped back down to the ground.

“I don't know if invisible stuff is dangerous... I better go a different way.”

A sound. Tails' ears perked. A scary voice called his name. 

Tails gulped and gripped the straps of his backpack. “...H-haunted zone. You won't scare me. I’m not leaving you until I find something that will help me find Amy. So...”

A thud startled him. It came from the checkered wall. Thud, thud, thud, again and again, as if something was bounding towards him. Before he could react, a red ball came careening out of the wall.

Tails dropped to the ground. The ball bounced over and slammed into the invisible wall behind him.

Tails snapped his head up. 

The red ball lay on the ground. At first it remained there. Completely still. But then it started to open up. Four limbs sprouted out--two yellow arms and two black legs. It was a person. Or a ghost that had come to trick him.

“Ow ow..." the ghost, that most people knew as Mighty, groaned.

Tails froze solid as Mighty's eyes met his.

Mighty blinked in surprise. "Tai- Oh! Is that you, Tails?”

Tails’ fur stood on edge at the sound of the voice. “A-um, I-”

“Oh thank heaven," Mighty whispered under his breath. He stood to his full height, which to Tails looked towering. "You'll need to come with me. This isn't a way you should be going now."

Tails backed up.

“A-ah, I’m sorry, little one. I’m friends with Amy Rose, you see. Sonic as well,” he reassured. “That’s how I know your name.”

Tails paused. His tails slowly relaxed as if considering his words. 

Mighty waited. 

In a blur, the little fox turned and scurried away.

“W-wait! Don’t run in a place like this!” Mighty called. He resisted the urge to run himself, and simply watched where the little fox headed, so he could follow.

Sonic pushed past a few plants and then jumped through the zone hop leading to Ice Cap Zone. 

“I don't think Knuckles has a grasp of how far apart these islands are. Will Mighty really still be hanging around West Side Island if I fly there?”

Landing on the snow, Sonic paused.

“...And if he is... I mean… Knuckles said Mighty’s protecting the Chaos Emerald. Is he just gonna hand it over or? Should Knuckles given me a password or something??”

Sonic laughed at the idea that Mighty wouldn't hand over the Chaos Emerald. He jumped into the next zone hop and took off into Marble Zone.

As he ran, he couldn't help the wave of memories from the place once called Eggman Island. The only place he’d seen Mighty wield his super strength. There, the armadillo had bent metal prison bars open, stopped an enormous centipede bot by the jaws, shielded him and Ray the Flying Squirrel from flamethrowers and buzzsaws, and wrenched huge crusher traps from their hinges. Sonic smiled incredulously at the prospect of facing that. He was glad he wouldn't have to. 

"Well, ya never know. Could be fun?" he mused. "...Ah! Wait!"

Sonic skidded to a stop.

"That's right. I left the Tornado in Starlight, not Green Hill."

He changed course and headed in the direction of Starlight Zone. The Tornado had been parked there on the roof of a high building, far away from the acidic chemicals of Chemical Plant Zone. He hoped it was still alright.

Then, a thought occurred to him.

"Hey... Chemical Plant... Hey, it's connected to Starlight somehow, right? Maybe I can get right to West Side Island from there!"

Amy stood on her tiptoes to keep her torso sticking out the open window. Though her eyes searched intently from Tails' treehouse, Aquatic Ruin's thick foliage prevented her from seeing any sign of Tails or Mighty's return. 

Finally, she came back inside and gave a determined sigh. "If they don't come back in a few minutes, I'm going after them!"

The small animals in the room reacted immediately.

"What? Don't be silly."

"Please don't!"

"Then THREE people will lost there instead of two."

"They're right, it's too dangerous!"

Amy opened her arms, "But what if they're scared! Who else is going to help them?"

Just then, a playful knock thumped upon the door. 

Amy gasped and headed over expectantly.

The door busted open, and in waltzed Sonic. “Hey hey Tails~”

Amy looked stunned. "Sonic!"

"Eh- Amy??" Sonic exclaimed. "What're YOU doing here?"

The animals ran up to him in unison, “SONIC!!” 

Sonic was flooded over with hugs and pushed out onto the wooden porch outside. “Taha! Hey guys!” He laughed. “Well... Can't say I was expecting this!”

"You're just in time!" one of them cheered.

"I am?" Sonic quipped. When he saw Amy join them, he said again, "Rascal! How'dja get here?"

“Sonic! I got stuck on Eggman’s ship.”

Sonic snickered regretfully. “Why were you anywhere near that guy?”

“I spied on him, to see what he was up to. Just like you told me,” Amy proudly nodded.

“Just like I told-?! What?"

Amy answered, "After Little Planet, remember? I asked how to help you to make sure Eggman doesn't be bad! And you said we have to wait til he does something again. So I watched him to see right when he does!"

Sonic stuttered, "That's not what I sai- I didn’t mean-” He stopped. “Sorry, I’m in a real hurry. Have you guys seen a guy named Mighty around?”

Several "yeah!"s came from the animals.

Amy perked. “Sonic, the most weirdest things happened! There's this glowing thing that takes people to different places! Me and Mighty were even taken to Metallic Madness Zone! And now, Tails went to an alpha zone!”

“What?!”

Amy nodded adamantly. The rest of the animals affirmed her statement.

Sonic turned on his heel, “I gotta get him outta there.”

“Let me come with you, Sonic,” Amy followed him in stride.

Sonic nodded and took her arm, “Tell me where this alpha zone is.”

“I don’t know where it is!” she blurted just before he could take off. “I don’t know…”

“Does anyone know?” Sonic urgently asked the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you'd like to see the bizarre visuals of the alpha zone Tails is in, check out the chapter notes below. Yes, it's a real thing you can see in-game!
> 
> [Chapter 8 Notes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LaNxHaujTN65-Eze0ECWD2gMstDPteEB-x04S-5D47A/edit?usp=sharing)  
> (Just press back to return to this page)


	9. Chapter 9

Tails fled ever deeper into Woods Zone. He was desperate to escape his pursuer. The surroundings were no help. Invisible walls thwacked into him and forced him to scramble for new routes. Strange, pulling forces caught onto his ankles, slowing him down or keeping him stuck in place. He realized now that the visual glitches around him were materializing with greater and greater frequency. He needed to get away. His chest tangled so tightly with fear that tears spilled from his eyelids.

Tails made it to the top of a hill. A few yards away, a wide crevice separated this stretch of land from another.

His heart soared. If he flew over to the other side, he'd be safe for good.

“Taaails!” the stranger, Mighty, hollered behind him.

Tails rushed down the hill. As he did, shapes began appearing in the air--long, thin, horizontal stripes of color. They had no solidity, but they were opaque, and partially blocked the surroundings from his vision.

He kept running.

Mighty reached the hilltop and gasped. “Tails, STOP!!”

With a big leap, the little fox flew over as far as he could. Mighty watched with awed relief at this surprising ability. But as Tails landed safely on the other side, the armadillo seemed filled with a different fear.

Mighty's face lowered. “...The further you venture into an alpha zone... the greater the danger. For both of us. ...I have to stop him."

Mighty jogged to the crevice ledge. He scanned the ground beneath his feet, then the land on the other side of the crevice, then the ground again.

He gave an apprehensive nod to himself. Then he backed several paces.

"I hope this works."

He hunkered down. Then, jumping as high as he could, Mighty drove his heels ferociously down. The earth buckled under his feet. A huge crack split down the cliffside.

Into this crack, Mighty wedged his heel and pushed. The cliff groaned forward. Dirt and rock tumbled down as the cliff broke from the mainland. Slowly, slowly, it leaned over the crevice. Then it swung down and smashed into the cliff on other side.

Tails spun around in alarm. Dust rushed into his face.

Mighty strode onto the enormous land bridge and ran across. When he got to the other side, he could make out Tails' silhouette amongst the dust clouds. And behind Tails, an indication of something strange. Something happening to the zone. Mighty couldn’t comprehend it at first.

His fur raised in realization.

The landscape ahead was glitching. The ground was angled 90 degrees, vertically, so that the terrain stretched high into the sky. Then, it snapped back down. Then, back up. It changed from vertical to horizontal in erratic blinks.

Mighty’s stomach dropped. “Dear me...”

Finally, Tails managed to rub his eyes free of dust and spotted Mighty.

“EEEEP!”

He took off. But only a few steps. When Tails saw the corrupted terrain in front of him, he fell back in shock.

He couldn't possibly go forward.

Tails got back up, on wobbly legs. Instead he flew to the left, towards a group of checkered walls and platforms that created a ravine. As he entered, he saw several waterfalls lining the walls. If he hid behind one of them, maybe the stranger would lose his trail.

The waterfalls were oddly quiet. But Tails didn't question it. Not until he got closer. That's when he realized that the water wasn't moving. It was completely frozen.

He heard the stranger call for him. Any hesitation disappeared. Tails reached forward. His hand pushed through the water as easily as with normal water. It was cold. But it wasn't frozen. But still, it wasn't flowing. With no time to think on it, Tails covered his face and jumped through.

The other side revealed a completely different zone. Endless rows of trees. Before Tails could react, his wet shoes slipped on a branch. He shouted and caught onto it before he could fall.

“Tails!”

Tails was soaked and disorientated. He looked behind, in the direction of the voice. There the waterfall still stood. But in the middle was a hole. Because the water wasn't flowing, there was a clear indication of where he had jumped through. And from this opening, the stranger spotted him.

“Tails! Wait!”

Tails yelped, “D-don’t follow me!”

Mighty froze.

The little fox clamored back to the top of the branch. Tears slid down his cheeks.

Mighty put his hands up gently. “I promise I won’t follow another step.”

Tails watched him in a slight cower.

“I want to tell you something. You don’t have to believe me.” When Mighty saw the little fox had made no movement to leave, he smiled. “Now. ...You know of beta zones? Sonic taught you them, didn’t he?”

Tails looked a bit more receptive to his words.

“The zones that some people call haunted, zones like this one, are also called alpha zones,” Mighty explained. “They’re like beta zones. Only, much more dangerous. They can even make you sick if you stay too long. So do you see? It’s best to leave this place, as soon as we can.”

Tails’ mouth fidgeted. “...I know this zone is dangerous…”

“Good good,” Mighty answered, and lowered his arms.

Tails waited. His eyes darted in a few directions. Then with a small voice, he asked, “...You’ll let me go? If I leave this zone?”

Mighty nodded.

Tails let out a little breath. At first he made no move. But soon enough, he jumped off the branch and flew high. He splashed back through the waterfall and kept going, too scared to look back.

 

Hills drifted slowly beneath Tails as he flew. He found that he was less likely to hit invisible walls, or get caught by glitched areas, the higher he traveled. And though part of him was relieved to escape the ghost, and relieved to leave this bizarre zone, he was again returning home with no idea of how to find his friend Amy Rose.

A group of pixels caught his eye. He wanted to ignore the phenomenon, but he perked when he thought he saw, below it, someone familiar.

“Ngh!” the person strained.

“Sonic!” Tails exclaimed as he swooped down.

“Hey hey hey~” Sonic answered coolly. He was standing midair, a few feet over the ground. “I came lookin for ya, but I guess you’re the one findin me!”

Tails landed with a laugh. “I thought you might be another ghost! Or, bad guy, or whatever…”

"Ghost?" Sonic said in suspicion. Then, since he was standing in the air, he hunched over and wiggled his fingers spookily, “Could a ghost do thiiiiis~?”

“Sonic!” Tails laughed.

Sonic snickered and leaned on what looked like nothing. “Now whatcha doin in a place like this, bud? I taught ya, just turn around if you see glitchy stuff. I mean lookit me, I’m standing on nothing!”

Tails moved his foot sheepishly, “I know… it’s just…”

Sonic pointed with his thumb, “Let’s get outta here! Amy’s waiting for us back at your place.”

Tails gasped. “Really??”

“Yup! She told me to come get ya.” Sonic tapped his toes on the unseeable barrier beneath him. “Think you can help me down? I’m kinda glitched.”

Tails nodded, and came over happily, until he stood right below Sonic.

“Okay, just gimmie your hand here,” Sonic told him.

Tails made a questioning sound. "...But how can I reach past that invisible floor?"

"Eh, it's not really anything solid here. I'm stuck here by some weird-... I dunno, some messed up gravity or physics or something."

Tails looked intrigued. He reached up. Sure enough, his hand passed through and he took Sonic’s wrist.

Tails tugged, but Sonic didn’t budge. He pulled harder and harder. With a cute, glitchy sound, Sonic was yanked free, and they both tumbled to the ground.

“Oof!”

“Ow!” Tails laughed.

Sonic got up. “Thanks, little buddy! You ready?”

Tails balled his fists. “Yeah, Sonic!”

 

Sunlight blinked, warmly, rapidly, as Sonic ran beneath a series of natural arches. The air was cool. Wind rushed through his ears. Tails was lagging just behind Sonic’s blazing direction through Emerald Hill Zone. Breaking from the arch formations, the two began zooming up an incline. It grew steeper, and Tails’ eyes fixed up upon the poofy white clouds, the deep blue sky. Its vivid color framed two orange loops, approaching fast.

Sonic made a cheerful motion with his hand, and Tails knew they were going to run through them. Just like they had times before. Suddenly Tails felt a rush of joy that Sonic was with him right now. He was here, back on his island, after thinking they wouldn't see each other again for a long time.

Up, around, down, then up and around again. Tails almost tripped on the way down, but he caught himself, and beamed towards the back of his hero, still leading the way.

Sonic peered over his shoulder. “You doing okay?”

Tails nodded happily.

The bushes of Aquatic Ruin Zone began whooshing by. Before they knew it, the treehouse came into sight. Amy was already there, at the base of the tree, having seen their approach from the window.

“Amy!” Tails ran up and hugged her.

“Tails, you’re alright!” Amy gave him a big squeeze, then pulled away and petted his ear, “I was scared!”

“I was scared! You kept falling…”

“Why did you go to an alpha zone?” Amy asked.

Tails shook his head. “I wanted to see if it’d help me find you. But you’re safe anyway, I’m so glad!”

The two hugged again.

When they pulled away a second time, they were both beaming at one another. Then, simultaneously, they peeked over at Sonic.

With hearts welled up, they grinned at each other and blurted, “You know Sonic too??”

Amy beamed, “Yeah!”

“I'm so glad you know him! He’s so cool! Isn't he so cool??” Tails raved.

“He’s smart and brave!” Amy declared. "I love him!"

Sonic laughed heartily as they ran up and hugged him too.

 

The three climbed back up towards the treehouse. Amy and Tails were spilling over with stories of their recent adventures along the way. Sonic listened closely. The strange grid they spoke about, which caused zones to overlap and even teleport people, added to the urgency of his task.

Once they made it through the front door, they were bombarded by the animals waiting inside. They scolded Tails for his careless actions, but still, everyone was overflowing with relief and happiness.

Sonic rubbed an eye. Now that he was inside a proper house, and in the company of others, aches and heaviness that he hadn't noticed before were starting to surface. His head especially felt strange. He remembered feeling different ever since the incident with the red Chaos Emerald. But it seemed to be worsening. 

A small tap on his leg. He looked down to see Pecky.

She looked up at him with deep sentiment. “Sonic. Thank you.”

Sonic answered only with a wink.

As one of the animals closed the door, Pecky took notice. She looked back to Sonic. “Where’s Mighty?”

Amy overheard her. She nodded to Tails, “Yeah. He went to get you too.”

“Ah, WHAT!!” Sonic blurted.

Tails watched Sonic turn right on his heel. “Sonic, what’s-”

The animals scrambled out of Sonic’s way. Just as he grabbed the doorknob, he felt it turn on its own beneath his hand.

The door swung open. Sonic was pushed into the wall. From the other side, Mighty rushed in.

“Oh! Good..!” Mighty exclaimed when he saw Amy and Tails. He leaned his hands on his knees to catch his breath. “You can’t know how glad I am…! to see you both, safe, safe and sound!”

He stood panting. When he realized the others were looking towards the door, Sonic gave it a light kick and revealed himself behind it.

Mighty gasped slowly. “Oh… I’m SO sorry!”

“Forget tha-”

“Mighty!!” came a flurry of voices from the little animals.

“An emerald??”

“You’ve got a Chaos Emerald??”

Mighty closed his eyes in a slow wince.

Everybody watched expectantly. Except Amy, who picked up Mighty's bindle from the wall.

“Mighty,” she said, coming back over to him. “It’s because... I looked in. It was an accident that I looked in. It fell down, and then, the reader, it turned on and made beeping, so I went to turn it off. And... we saw it." Her eyes were round and doughy as they met his. "...Do you believe me?”

Mighty gently took the bindle. “Well of course I do, little one.”

Amy didn’t look any less troubled. “...Mighty, but. You told me you didn’t have one…”

He knelt, and touched her shoulder with a sigh, “You're right. I’m sorry, Little Rose. You see, I was asked to keep it secret.”

Sonic watched, with lips turned in. Then looking at the others in the room, he shrugged. “What the heck, since everyone knows--I actually need that emerald.”

“...You do?” Mighty asked skeptically from where he kneeled.

“You prolly won’t believe this but, yeah actually. Knuckles told me to get it fro-” he stopped when he noticed Mighty gesture in panic. Sonic slapped both hands over his mouth.

“Knuckles?” Amy curiously repeated.

Sonic laughed nervously at the animals’ rising curiosity.

“Is that who you promised to?” Amy asked Mighty.

Tails looked with confusion between Mighty and Sonic.

Mighty frowned. “I’m afraid I can’t say more. And, I can’t give this to you.”

“Right right, just listen,” Sonic answered lightly.

Mighty took the bag off the stick and held it securely as he rose to his feet.

“I already knew you had it.” Sonic pointed both fingers to the ground, “It’s the whole reason I’m here, why I came here lookin for ya. The fact I knew, don’t you think it’s enough to trust what I’m saying?”

“I trust you. Do not mistake me,” Mighty answered slowly. “That’s not the matter. ...We need to discuss this elsewhere, Mr. Hedgehog.”

“I’m sorry Mighty-man, I just, don’t got time for all that stuff. I gotta fill you in later.”

“Please. Make time.”

 

Amy, Tails, and a few animals craned their necks to watch Sonic and Mighty through the treehouse window. The two were outside now, on the grass.

“What are they doing?” an animal asked.

“They’re just talking,” another answered.

Amy scrunched her brow. “I wonder if they know what’s going on… with the zones.”

Tails only made a quiet sound.

Amy continued, “I bet they do. Maybe it's Eggman?" She balled up her fists, "OO! If I hadn't got lost on this island, I might've could've seen what he was up to! But it's okay." She looked at Tails. "We're going to find out and help them!"

Pecky interrupted, "You should leave this to Sonic. One of you almost got really hurt trying to get involved."

Tails nodded self-consciously.

Amy countered, "Everyone always makes Sonic do everything by himself. I'm going to help! That's what I decided after he saved me."

"But Amy-" Tails said quietly.

She didn't hear him. "And this is something I can give help to. Whatever's going on, I think it must be something to do with the emerald. ...And I wonder! Who's Knuckles? They didn’t want us to know!”

Though the question wasn’t directed towards him, heat flushed over Tails’ body. He tried to act normal, but he wasn't good at it.

“Tails?? You know?”

“Uh!”

 

“This has to do with Knuckles’ warning?” Mighty asked.

By now, the two had walked some distance into the forest, enough to prevent the others from seeing them.

“Pretty much,” Sonic answered. “Wacky stuff went on on my island, so I told him about it, just like you said. Now he’s got me doin this-uh, not exactly sure what. But I need your emerald. Can we make it fast?”

Mighty rubbed the side of his head slowly, “Quite a predicament…”

“So can I have it?”

Mighty gave an apologetic look.

Sonic groaned and leaned his head back. "...You really gonna make this hard for me."

"I'm just... this is so sudden," Mighty fretted. "First Knuckles gives it to me, then next thing I know... this."

Sonic waved his arm, "THIS, is comin straight from Knuckles. That's what I'm tryina tell you."

Mighty sighed slowly. "...And I trust what you're telling me, but... well..." He shook his head. "...Is there really anything going wrong? The world's changes can be frightening to us. But it's natural. I've always seen it resolve itself with time."

Sonic looked completely agape. "...Mighty, you're kidding me, Amy told me you guys got sent to METALLIC MADNESS! That's on Little Planet! That's not normal! I bet you never even BEEN to that place before!"

Mighty murmured, "I haven't."

"And by a weird glowy grid thing?? C'mon! You're the one who brought this zone stuff up to me in the first place. You know something's up. Don't tell me you're denying it?"

Mighty closed his eyes and swiped his arm up, "I just-! ...Need some time. To think this over..."

Sonic's response didn't come right away. He stood, seriously. Without shifting.

Mighty's eyes were cast down at the bag in his hand, which inside, held the light blue Chaos Emerald.

"...I don't got time to talk this out," Sonic asserted. "I needed this emerald like, two hours ago. So I'm sorry I just can't play your way this time."

The words left Mighty speechless. When he looked back in Sonic's direction, he saw him practicing a few spinballs. "...Mr. Hedgehog?"

Sonic faced him and flared his spines. He crouched into an attack stance.

"...What are you doing?"

"Gonna fight ya!" Sonic said cheerfully. "Winner gets emerald. Ready~?"

Mighty very slowly raised both eyebrows. "...You're trying to scare me."

A grin flashed across Sonic's face. "Nah. I'm not an 'all talk' kinda guy."

He burst forward in a streak of blue. Mighty stood dumbfounded. Sonic swerved, and before Mighty could track his movement, Sonic landed a kick across his back.

Mighty didn't react. In fact, he wondered if he felt something from behind. He turned apprehensively.

Sonic wasn't there.

Mighty looked around.

His ears perked at the unmistakable sound of Sonic's spinball. Something bashed into his side. Mighty tumbled to the grass.

Pain emerged across his torso. Mighty rubbed the area Sonic's spines had scraped him as he sat up. 

“Sonic. Listen to me. I won’t fight you.”

Sonic screeched to a stop a few yards away. “Awwww, please?”

Mighty smiled, despite himself.

“I ain’t goin slow this time~” Sonic warned. He twirled around and shot forward in a spinball.

Blinding speed. With one of his hands holding the bag, Mighty only had one free. He threw it out to protect himself. His palm struck against Sonic and knocked him back through the air. Sonic flew past several trees and smacked against the side of a decayed loop.

Sonic slid down and dropped onto the grass.

“OH-kay,” he groaned. “That was a hard one.”

He heard Mighty’s voice through the trees, “SORRY! I didn’t mean-...!”

Sonic chuckled to himself. He propped himself up and called out, “Give up yet?"

He could hear Mighty rushing in his direction through the foliage. Just as Mighty pushed by the last thicket, Sonic was on his feet and poised to attack again.

“WAIT.” Mighty pleaded. “Mr.- Sonic, just wait.”

But Sonic zigzagged in a blur. Mighty retreated into his shell. Sonic sent him shooting backwards into a pillar. It buckled, and the brick slabs it supported collapsed to the ground.

The rubble settled. As Sonic climbed onto the pile, he peered into the cracks to find Mighty, but it was too dark.

"Mightyyy?" Sonic called into the rubble.

Sonic started heaving blocks up and tossing them aside. After the sixth block lifted, the red of Mighty’s shell showed against the yellow rubble. He was still curled in a tight ball.

“Mighty?” Sonic knocked on his shell, “Mighty, come out.”

When Mighty didn’t budge, Sonic picked him up and set him down onto the grass.

“C’mon, you’re safe now! Well, til I attack you again, but,” Sonic snickered.

Still, Mighty remained in a ball.

“...Wait. Wait wait, you can’t stay there in your shell!” Sonic crouched down and tried to pry him open. “Nguh! Nnnnnngh!” He frowned. “C’mon Mighty! This’s... cheating, or something. I think.”

Sonic rolled him like a ball under his foot, waiting. Then, with a huff, he picked Mighty up and tucked him under his arm. “Fine. We’re goin straight to Knuckles. He can settle this.”

As Sonic started forward, he heard a muffled voice. Mighty opened up and accidentally shoved Sonic to the ground, “Yes! That! Let’s do that! G-get permission from Knuckles.”

Sonic sighed with his face flat on the grass. “...Why didn’t you say so in the first place?”

“Well... You didn't give me time to think," Mighty answered in genuine reply.

“Heh heh! Whoops!" Sonic picked himself up. "Well, let’s-”

He was cut off as Mighty picked him up into big bear hug.

“Ulg-!”

Mighty squeezed him close.

Sonic strained, "Heh, you alright, bud?"

Mighty's expression was soft and emotional as he set Sonic back down. "...Yes. I'm just glad we're not fighting. You're dear to me, Mr. Hedgehog. I'd never want to hurt you."

Sonic flushed at the bare sentiment.

Mighty beamed, “Let’s go back inside and-”

“H-huh? Inside? We just agreed we got someplace to go.”

Mighty drew in a slow breath. “I--was hoping to stay a bit. The little ones… They've both been through a lot. Is it really right to leave them alone?"

“...I’m worried too,” Sonic told him genuinely. “I know you wanna make sure nothing happens to em, but. We gotta do this. They'll be alright. ”

Mighty nodded slowly and bit the inside of his lip. “I’m just a bit shaken, Mr. Hedgehog. This whole thing… I'm not really quite myself after that alpha zone.” He motioned to Sonic, “And, what about you? You spent time in it too?”

Sonic almost waved it off, but he was reminded again of the aches and heaviness in his body. Then he straightened. It occurred to him that he hadn't wondered, until now, how long Mighty had been in the alpha zone. Or how much he had been affected. Sonic could easily ignore his own adverse effects, but he couldn't bring himself to do it for someone else's.

“Hey. I’ll stay,” Sonic conceded.

“I’ll go with you,” Mighty conceded at the same time.

Sonic laughed. “Nah nah! You've convinced me. I’ll stay." He gave Mighty a light slap on the back. "Let’s get some rest!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I call this chapter “What Happens When You Don’t Have Cell Phones.”
> 
> If you wanna see a visual for the 90 degree landscape glitch, and other things, see below!
> 
> [Chapter 9 Notes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1em7tx9PpdTZRTwU0dm9Vz_WKa080JoW3z0MmHMBsH5w/edit?usp=sharing)  
> (Just press back to return to this page)


	10. Chapter 10

“You wanna stay a-at, MY house??” Tails gaped from the front door.

Sonic winked. “Yep! My legs’re sore from all that glitching! Whatcha say, little buddy?”

“Yaaaaay!” Amy cheered as she dragged Sonic inside by the arm. 

“W-wah!” Sonic laughed.

"Like a sleepover!" Amy declared.

Tails hopped up and down. "I'll get us pizza!"

Tails turned for the door. But his enthusiasm dropped at the sight of Mighty, who came in behind Sonic. With fur bristled high, Tails tiptoed carefully around, then scampered out.

As Mighty came up beside Amy, she looked up at him. “I think he’s afraid of you.”

Sonic scoffed. "What?"

Mighty rubbed an arm sheepishly. "Well... I probably could have left a better first impression.”

“Yo, whadja do?” Sonic asked with a smirk.

 

With the drama on West Side Island finally at a close--Amy found, Tails safe, and Sonic and Mighty returned--it was time for the little animals to return to their homes as well. They said their goodbyes and dispersed back into Aquatic Ruin Zone, back to their dens dug from the earth, or inside tree trunks, or amongst the stones of scattered ruins.

The remaining four, Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Mighty, sat together on the treehouse balcony with their legs dangling over the sea of leaves. They ate pizza and enjoyed each other’s laughter.

Sonic groaned with a full stomach. He laid back on the wooden planks. “After we get this zone stuff figured out, I’ll be sure to take ya back to South Island, Amy.”

Amy immediately leaned over him. “What do you think’s going on, Sonic? Is it the emeralds? Is Eggman doing something bad with them?” She gasped. “Sonic! Oh! Eggman, he’s here! That's how I got to here! He was capturing animals and building bad stuff on this island!”

Mighty looked over with alarm. But Sonic crossed one leg over the other and assured, “Nah, Tails n I ran him off West Side Island already.”

Amy looked at both of them. “You fought Eggman?”

“Yeah!” Tails beamed. “And we beat him! Sonic exploded him in space!”

“In space?” Mighty remarked.

“WOOAAH!” Amy marveled. 

Tails swung his legs happily. “I sure am glad he’s gone. He was mean.”

Sonic’s eyes were closed now. “Ehhhh, Eggman’ll always be a problem no matter what we do.”

“But you always stop him, huh Sonic!” Amy affirmed.

“It’s not that,” Sonic said nonchalantly. “I’m just always in the right place, right time...”

Mighty looked fondly over at him. “...Of all people to be modest? You’ve stopped Eggman’s terrible deeds, many times over.” He counted on his fingers, “At Eggman Island, at South Island, this West Side Island, Ange-" He stopped himself. "Well, you know where.”

“Little Planet!” Amy chimed in.

Mighty added one more finger, then waved the five total towards Sonic.

Sonic only chuckled and closed his eyes again, as if pretending not to see.

Mighty smiled too, and leaned his arms on the wooden railing. “...We don’t ever get much chance to tell you how grateful we are to have you, Mr. Hedgehog. We’re all, very grateful.”

“Ahhhh, you don’t gotta tell me that,” Sonic answered warmly.

“Even so,” Mighty responded. He allowed a pause, before continuing. “After what happened on Eggman Island. You know, you helped me look at myself. Think about, what I’m really capable of.” He chuckled. "And you know? ...It's a lot more than I thought."

Emotion welled on Tails' face. 

Amy shot right to her feet, “Me too! Sonic, you did that for me too! Before, I wasn’t sure what I could do. But now, I know I can help anyone! I can fight, like you!”

Sonic waved a hand. “See, all that’s already inside you guys. You can do anything you want. It’s all up to you. It’s what I say. I’ll make my own way, my own opportunities, my own self. My own life.”

Mighty shook his head, in disbelief and admiration. “...You are incredible, Mr. Hedgehog.”

“Yeah,” Sonic self-admired, and rested his arms behind his head.

 

They continued chatting on and on. Slowly though, the conversation shifted, so that it was carried mostly between Amy and Mighty. Sonic was daydreaming about running. Tails seemed too meek to speak up. 

Mighty slipped into his habit of telling tales of far off places, of zones come and gone. Sonic envisioned his own places in his mind. The rush of flowers and grass at his feet. Rolling hills and mountains gliding past him. Clouds. Glistening water. Bright colors streaking by. 

In his imagination, the hues formed into magnificent shapes, into the energies that engulfed him when retrieving the Chaos Emeralds. Swirling, churning, boundless power. In the rush of colors, he remembered the sound of Knuckles’ voice through the Master Emerald. And he thought of Knuckles. His face. His look of fatigue when he had seen him last.

Sonic felt a hand on his shoulder, and Mighty spoke.

“I’ll see you all soon. It’s time I head to sleep now.”

Sonic was back to reality.

Amy smiled, “Good night, Mighty!”

Mighty hugged Amy from where she sat. Then he waved to Tails, “Goodnight, Little Tails. Thank you for letting us stay.”

“Mighty night~" Sonic added as Mighty crossed the wooden bridge towards one of the stand-alone rooms.

The door to the room clicked shut.

Sonic sighed slowly. As his eyes wandered the light between the leaves, he tried to recall what he had just been thinking about But, small whispers came from the direction of Tails and Amy. He looked over. They were both smiling at him.

“...What?” Sonic asked slowly.

Amy smiled, “Want to play hide and seek with us?”

“Hmmmm.” He gave a playful thumbs up, “Okay~”

 

And so they romped around outside, hiding and playing beneath the trees of Aquatic Ruin Zone. The achiness and heaviness in Sonic's body had grown to a point that made it hard for him to maneuver. But his resulting clumsiness made their games all the more silly and enjoyable.

Once they started feeling thirsty, they headed back inside. Tails laid piles of blankets across the floor as their beds. They situated themselves in front of his small woodstove and began roasting marshmallows. Sonic laid in the middle, with Tails and Amy sitting on either side, as he explained the situation on his own island to them.

Tails stared in disbelief. “So that zone on your island and Chemical Plant Zone are mashing together?”

Sonic nodded. “That’s how I got here so fast. Didn’t even hafta take the Tornado!” He turned serious, and looked sternly at both of them, “Just, you don’t go over there. To Chemical Plant, I mean. Both those zones’re acting beta-y.” He popped a marshmallow into his mouth, and made a long thinking sound. “…Prolly shoulda told the others before they left, huh?"

Tails grinned. “No one likes Chemical Plant Zone anyway. We don’t go there. I hope it gets disappeared by your island’s zone!”

Amy smiled, “If they stay stuck together, we could see each other all the time!”

Sonic laughed tiredly. “Hey yeah, if they stay together that means we'd live on the same island, huh? …Wait. But they’re like... TONS of miles apart. Y’know, how ARE the zones even touching right now? How does that even-?” He chuckled and rolled onto his side, “Ahhh, I don’t get this zone stuff.”

Tails bounced in place from where he sat, “I think we can learn more about them!"

“Mm-hm?”

“Yeah, if we collect samples from a beta or alpha zone, we might be able to figure out their-… well, more about how they are, and how they work.”

Sonic dozed. “Mmm… sounds cool…”

Amy added, “And Tails thinks some zones might always be overlapping, but we never know! Unless there’s a glitch that messes up whatever makes them work right.”

“Nn-hm…” Sonic murmured. 

Tails and Amy giggled.

Sonic chuckled, sleepily, “What you guys laughing at?”

Though he could hear them answer, their individual words were blurred and quiet. Around him felt dark, and warm, as the sensation of sleep rolled over. 

He was floating. In deep blue. Stark columns of light shone against him from below.

The rays were all different colors. Eight colors. One in the middle, and seven surrounding it.

Looking down, he saw the Emerald Altar. He didn’t wonder why he was here. His senses only studied the gems’ shimmering colors. Their booming sounds. 

A twinge of pain jumped through his body. Then, a terrible sensation. From beneath dimensions, something split open. A purple surge of power roared into his face and engulfed him in an electric flood.

Sonic felt something solid against him. He opened his eyes.

Tails’ house. 

The shutters were drawn. In the dim room, he saw Amy and Tails snuggled in their blankets, fast asleep. All was calm. Yet he couldn’t shake the state of panic he had awoken in. With a pounding chest, he waited. As if some power may erupt, and consume everything in this moment.

“That... wasn’t a dream…” he murmured to himself slowly. “That was the same purple… same as before…”

 

Sonic shoved his shoes on and left through the front door. Whatever pain had accumulated earlier that day seemed to have been lessened thanks to sleep. As he swiftly climbed the wooden bridges of Tails' treehouse, he peered into the windows of each room he passed. 

Eventually he opened the door to one, and went inside. Sleeping there under a heart-decorated quilt was Mighty. 

Sonic placed a hand on his back.

“Mighty.” 

He didn’t budge. 

“Mighty.”

Sonic waited. He shook him a little.

“Hnn..” 

“C’mon, you gotta get up,” Sonic shook him more. 

“Stop...” Mighty groaned. But slowly, he looked up. “Sonic?” 

Sonic nodded.

At his expression, Mighty jolted upright, “What’s wrong?” 

“We gotta go. I shoulda thought of Knuckles.” 

“What?” Mighty got up. “Knuckles?? Sonic, what-what’s wrong?” 

“He’s alright,” Sonic reassured. “At least, I think. It’s just. We really needa go, now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter this week. Hope you enjoyed nonetheless!
> 
> [Chapter 10 Notes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1S5jMKO3UoBL2sExVMLvX7CAT1eM7b5S-t2vc588waac/edit)  
> (Just press back to return to this page)


	11. Chapter 11

Mighty ran. The underbrush of Aquatic Ruin Zone was damp at his legs. He no longer carried his bindle. Instead, the Chaos Emerald was wrapped tight inside his bag, and the bag tied around his hand. This way, he could keep a secure grasp on it. Uncharacteristically, Sonic kept a slow pace to stay alongside him. He explained to Mighty Chemical Plant Zone’s temporary connection with Starlight Zone, and how it served as a bridge between the two islands, at least for now.

Before they even cleared the forest, a smell--one that was metallic, alkaline--wafted onto the air. They scrunched their noses. More qualities of Chemical Plant Zone gradually emerged. Grass and trees dwindled to expose long, grimy sheets of metal. A night sky coated over. The music grew serious and threatening, and an eerie glow crawled up towards the black sky.

The two jogged up a metallic slope. On the other side, Chemical Plant Zone opened up before them. Mighty looked apprehensively towards the smokestacks in the distance, the red-hot lights framing the sky, and the system of tubes snaking into the bowels of the toxic factory.

Sonic turned to Mighty and winked, “Safest way through is FAST. LET’S MOVE IT~” 

Before Mighty could react, Sonic grabbed his hand and careened onto a tube. Mighty’s insides squirmed as Sonic followed along it. Up down up and down. Other tubes streaked alongside them in enormous blurs.

Sonic hit a spring. They were in the air. Then on the ground. Then hurtling through the air again. 

Sonic intensified his speed, tearing through the zone, yanking them in all kinds of directions. Mighty felt them spiral upside-down, lunge through the air, slam down to the ground, snap forward in a crack of speed. 

Suddenly, ahead, a pink chemical pool. 

Mighty opened his mouth to protest, but Sonic threw him into the air. Alone, with his lighter weight, Sonic sprinted across the surface of the pool. Then he caught Mighty on the other side. 

Mighty felt Sonic pull him up into his arms, and the hedgehog hunkered down, skidded beneath some loud, closing object. Things were happening faster than Mighty could process, so he closed his eyes and tried not to imagine what was going on around them.

As he ran, Sonic recognized signs of Starlight Zone here and there. But not nearly as many as a few hours before.

Something didn’t seem right.

He felt danger.

The ground ahead shattered into an array of cubes. Hot pink light streaked up between the cracks. The cubes began to jumble. Some began to rise, some to fall. 

Sonic skidded fiercely. Not soon enough. His heel jammed into a cube. He flailed forward, slammed to the ground. Mighty did too.

The cubes beneath them started to collapse. Sonic grabbed Mighty’s arm and dragged backwards.

“Mr. Hedgho- wuAH!”

The area beneath Mighty collapsed. The weight of his fall slammed Sonic to his stomach. But he held tightly, and managed to keep Mighty dangling over the drop. Cubes fell towards a glowing, hot pink chemical lake below them.

“I-I gotcha, I gotcha!” Sonic assured his friend. But his muscles were already burning. He was sliding closer and closer to the ledge. He couldn’t pull Mighty any higher.

They dropped over.

Sonic braced for entry into the lake. But his body knocked into something solid. 

Disoriented. Numb. Sonic opened his eyes. He was dry. He could breathe.

Sonic moved his palm. He was surprised to find, beneath his fingers, pink solidity. He was lying on the surface of the chemical lake as if it were frozen.

Sonic lifted slowly to his knees. White pixels materialized any place his body made contact with the lake. He looked to see that Mighty had safely landed upon the surface of the lake, along with the cubes that had fallen away from the path above. 

Sonic looked seriously over at Mighty.

Mighty returned his expression. “...Th-this is... gone alpha...?”

Both seemed to hold their breath. Reluctant to move.

Finally, Sonic said what they were both thinking, “This stuff could turn liquid without warning. We needa get off fast. I’m comin over to ya.”

Mighty nodded.

With light steps, Sonic came to Mighty’s side, and helped him to his feet.

As the white pixels crawled about their legs, Mighty panicked, “This isn't right. This isn't right. How could this-...?"

"It's not natural," Sonic affirmed. "Now do you see?"

Mighty only looked back with apology and concern.

Sonic turned his back to Mighty. Then, reaching back, he took Mighty's arms and made him hold on. "Ready?"

"Yes."

Sonic sprinted across the solid pink lake, with a whirl of white pixels kicking out behind them.

 

Tails hummed a cheerful tune while rolling up a blanket along the floor. Amy helped, too. She looked up to speak, when a beeping cut in.

“Again,” Tails groaned. He got up to turn the Emerald Reader off. “It really is broken, huh…”

“It’s not though!” Amy told him. “It was able to find the emerald that Mighty had.” 

“Yeah but it's still doing that beeping like it's picking up something, then just stops. I’ll just take off its power source so it stops doing that.”

Amy squinted slightly. Talking about emeralds reminded her of something. Then she sighed with disappointment, “Ohhhh, Tails, I forgot to ask them what’s happening with the emeralds.”

Tails looked up. “Well, I think you asked them, but then you changed the subject…”

“Well, that’s what happens when there’s so many things going on!” Amy declared as she stood to her feet. “But, I really wonder if they would have told me... Mighty was saying things were a secret.”

Tails took the pile of rolled up blankets into his arms and put them in a big basket in the corner.

“When do you think Sonic and Mighty will come back?” Amy asked.

Tails shrugged.

Amy looked at him, resolutely. “I think something’s really going on, Tails.”

Tails’ eyes wandered to the ground. 

“I don’t know what though.”

“...We should do something,” Tails said, not sounding very confident. 

“Yeah Tails!” 

He perked up. “I had an idea. It’s what I was doing earlier.” 

“In the alpha zone?” Amy asked.

Tails nodded. “Well but, I guess it’s too dangerous to do.” 

“What did you want to do though?” 

“Well, I wanted to try to capture some of those glitchy things, so I can bring them back and examine them. To know how to fix them.” 

“Oh yeah! Yeah! That’s a good idea! I’d help you do it, Tails.” 

“Really?? I-I mean, are you sure?” Tails rubbed his arm. “It’s just, everyone helped so much to make me come out of that zone…”

“I guess that’s true,” Amy agreed. “We might get in trouble if they find out. But I’d still come, if you still wanted to go.”

Tails sighed out his nose. “Well… I don’t want to do stuff we’re not supposed to. But. Even if Sonic fixes the zones with what he’s doing… There will still always be alpha zones and beta zones, just like always. And those will always be dangerous, if we stay not understanding them.”

“Yeah.”

“So… even though the older ones tell us not to go to those zones…” He hesitated. “I think we should. I want to learn about them.”

Amy smiled, “Then let’s go!”

“Okay! Oh. But first, we’ve GOT to be able to talk to each other if we get separated again.”

“But how could we do that though?” 

“I’ve been thinking about it!” Tails told her as he motioned her to follow. “I have these thingies from Eggman!”

 

Sonic sped deeper into Chemical Plant Zone. It was beginning to look like there may be no Starlight Zone left to travel to. Turning back and devising a different route to Angel Island was probably the safest course of action. But Sonic had concerns about something else. So he continued.

After a few minutes, a green area revealed itself amongst the grays and yellows. The same green color of Starlight Zone.

Sonic slowed.

Amongst the jumbled pieces of factory, a roadway revealed itself. A single line of light poles lit the road. 

It was Starlight Zone. But no bigger than a football field.

“Then…” Mighty stopped when he noticed Sonic swiveling his head around. “Mr. Hedgehog? Are you looking for something?”

“I landed the Tornado here.”

Mighty straightened with concern, and glanced around as well.

Sonic zipped off in a different direction. Mighty followed. As he caught up, he saw the bright red plane, and Sonic beside it, checking for damage.

“How about that! Your plane’s alright!” Mighty beamed.

“Mighty,” Sonic said, turning to him, “What ways can we get to Angel Island?”

Mighty blinked. “What is it? Can we not get there through here anymore?"

Sonic motioned to the green area around them, "I think this's all that's left. Of Starlight. It's been cut off from my island... I'm pretty sure. And that means we can't get to the zone hops you showed me to Angel Island."

Mighty nodded. "Well... There's your plane. It could fly us there. And. I know many other routes to Angel Island. Through zone hops.”

Sonic nodded, and looked up at the Tornado silently for a moment. “I want to get there as fast a possible.”

“...Flying will be the slowest way." As Mighty said this, he had a feeling Sonic was probably already aware of this fact. "But... if you leave your plane... It may get lost to the alpha zone. Let’s not leave it in this place.”

“You’ll fly with me?”

Mighty nodded.

“Thanks,” Sonic said with conviction. "I'll get us there, fast as I can."

 

The Tornado broke out from beneath the clouds in a long arc. Mist swirled between its silver wings. When it cleared away, golden sunlight poured over and revealed a magnificent floating island below. Mighty squinted through the vivid rays. This was the first time he had ever seen Angel Island from afar. The plane leaned sharply. He held tighter to the supports between the wings.

“I’m takin us in!” Sonic yelled over the propeller.

The Tornado soared down. As soon as it landed, Sonic powered down the plane, jumped out, and started forward.

“S-Sonic.”

Sonic turned. “What’s wrong? You needa hurl?”

“U-um,” Mighty slid off the wing, to the ground. “Shouldn't we wait here for Knuckles to meet us? He can sense when people come to his island. I’m sure he’s on his way.”

“OH. Sorry, I didn’t tell ya.” Realizing his goggles were still on, Sonic pulled them onto his forehead. “He’s all cooped up in Hidden Palace. Won’t leave it.”

Mighty went pale.

“What? You alright?”

“H-Hidden Palace?”

“Yup. It’s in Lava Reef. Usually a HUGE pain to get to. But! He showed me an underground tunnel thingy to bypass all that.”

“Oh,” Mighty responded in a half-hearted voice.

Though somewhat confused, Sonic took Mighty’s hand to run.

Mighty stopped Sonic with his other hand, “It’s just, I’ve never visited that place. Knuckles tells me much about it, but… also that I’m not allowed...”

Sonic grinned, “Tsh! Welp! I already broke that rule WIDE open! Sides! He told you to see him anyway, right, if things got weird?”

“Oh, that’s right… Sorry,” Mighty answered sheepishly. He closed his grip on Sonic’s hand.

“You’ll like it! It’s pretty,” Sonic told him as he took off.

 

Though the underground tunnels bypassed the dangers of Lava Reef Zone, the temperature still rose to a sweltering degree. Sonic no longer ran for both of them. It was too dark. Instead he jogged, letting Mighty keep a hand on his back to ensure he wasn’t left behind.

They emerged into a deep blue cavern lined with blue pathways and white piping. The way was easier to see. This was thanks to the giant crystals jutting from the walls which illuminated the surroundings in a gentle glow.

Sonic felt Mighty’s hand leave his backside. He turned to see Mighty staring at the dazzling geology. 

“Mighty, c’mon," Sonic urged.

Mighty nodded. 

Continuing on, they entered a long, narrow hallway. When it opened back up, the blue pathways and white piping were replaced with architecture of the most holy and decorative nature. Thick, intricate, purple pillars. Turquoise tile tapestries. The ceiling, the floor, the walls, they were all adorned, every inch, with vivid mosaics. Along the bottom of the cavern, a forest of enormous, crystal stalagmites rose up to line either side.

They had entered Hidden Palace.

Mighty refused to budge. His friend had to convince him that they were allowed to walk along the intricate tilework. With enough coaxing, and after Mighty removed his shoes, they made their way to the teleporter.

Sonic stepped on the teleporter's red orb. Bright light enveloped him. Then, the entrance to the Emerald Altar appeared before his eyes.

His instincts fired off. Something was wrong. He ran forward. 

As he skidded inside, flashes of light splayed along the walls. One of the Super Emeralds gleamed in blinding white. From it, long branches of purple, electric energy discharged throughout the room. Sonic’s instincts told him to go forward, to do something to help Knuckles silhouetted against the blaze. But his feet couldn’t move. 

There was a rush beside him. Mighty. Sonic used his arm to stop him from approaching any closer.

An eerie choppy sound. Then all at once, the purple energy reeled inward upon itself. It cascaded furiously back into the Super Emerald in a roar and a flash of light.

The sacred room returned to its dim, still state.

Knuckles stood panting with his weight leaned on the stone. He stayed that way several moments. Then, rubbing his head, slowly he stood upright. As he turned, he caught the sight of the other two with a look of surprise. Especially at Mighty. 

Sonic and Mighty stood absolutely stunned at what just happened.

“...Is... that the thing you been tryina keep control of?” Sonic asked. “Cuz that’s, THAT’S the same thing! That's what happened to me! That purple all everywhere, like electricity, and scary energy… The same feeling...”

There was no answer from Knuckles. The air was heavy with the drumming power of the emeralds.

“Knuckles. What’s going on?” Sonic asked.

The Guardian's head turned, sluggishly. “...As you have seen,” he began, “the zones are shifting.”

“Yeah…?” Sonic responded slowly.

Knuckles took steps towards them. “Gradual changes are natural. But, when there are severe changes, especially in music, you know there is something going on.” His eyes seemed to spot something. He nodded towards it, “Mighty.”

Mighty looked. A soft blue glow emanated from the bag fastened to his hand.

“Ohhh, the emerald,” Sonic told him.

Mighty loosened the knot and slid the bag from his hand. As he did, he felt the Chaos Emerald pulling upwards, towards the ceiling.

“...Here,” Mighty said as he handed the bag off to Sonic.

Sonic took it. His feet started lifting from the ground as the Chaos Emerald rose into the air. Frantically, Mighty grabbed his legs and pulled him back down.

"Woah!" Sonic laughed.

Knuckles nodded, “Bring it this way.”

Mighty decided to just carry Sonic over. 

The three of them met in the middle of the altar. Knuckles pulled the cloth back to reveal the brilliant blue cuts of the Chaos Emerald. With nothing obstructing it anymore, the Chaos Emerald rose sharply into the air. A sound, soft and piercing. Then the gem disappeared. 

With a thunderous roar, a column of light struck down upon a gray Super Emerald. An electric blue energy came to life and churned inside. As it settled, the light of other Super Emeralds seemed to grow, and pulsate as one. The Master Emerald thrummed and echoed off the walls inside the altar.

“The Chaos Emeralds, the Super Emeralds, the Master Emerald.” The sound of Knuckles’ voice broke magnitude of the spectacle. “They communicate with each other. And make the world as it is.”

Mighty slowly uncurled from a ball. Sonic watched Knuckles intently.

He continued, “Minor communication errors between them cause zone changes. As I said… it is a natural process that keeps the zones fluid and healthy. But, the recent changes… I believe are connected to the behavior of the purple Super Emerald.”

Sonic side-eyed the purple one seriously, “And it’s gettin worse. My zone on my island, it’s almost gone. And the zone it’s connected to is goin alpha.”

Knuckles rubbed his chin. “...That’s what I was afraid of." He took a few steps toward the Super Emerald. "It’s been acting this way since you defeated Eggman. But now, the rate is increasing." Knuckles turned to the others again. "I need to channel all the Chaos Emeralds back here, to realign their powers. That’s why I asked you to gather them.”

Sonic raised his arms in a big, playful shrug, “Seeee, now don’tcha think you should just explain these things to me more often?” He grinned and lounged back against the orange Super Emerald, “Or at least stop thinkin I’m behind every little bad thing that happens round here!” He stopped, realizing what he was leaning on, and stood back up.

Knuckles glared with a smile, and answered, “I don’t think that.”

“Don’t gimmie that! You thought it was ME screwing everything up!”

“I did not rule it out,” Knuckles answered simply.

Mighty laughed, and finally joined in. “Your distrust towards him certainly makes more sense now, but I find this emerald business all a… a little hard to accept.”

Sonic smirked, “First of all Mighty, it's not like this guy trusted me before all this, so don’t go giving him credit now. Second. ...I don’t really get this either! Cept I do, cuz what I feel when I get an emerald. The power that goes through me…”

“Sonic,” Knuckles cut in. “Please, get the last emerald. The longer we wait, the more severely the zones will fluctuate.”

“OH. Right.”

Sonic zipped out without another word. 

Mighty looked out after him. The slow thrums of the emeralds vibrated his limbs. Daunted his heart. He watched the rainbow lights refracting off the tiles, and felt himself getting smaller, and smaller. Then, the sound of Knuckles’ footsteps came up beside him.

"I never imagined I would see you here..."

Mighty laughed slightly.“Neither I…”

"Now you have seen," Knuckles said simply.

With palms together, Mighty turned to him. “...Knuckles. I’m sorry.”

Knuckles looked at him.

"I don't think I'm the right person to guard a Chaos Emerald. I tried, but I only delayed Sonic in helping you."

"You did as I asked."

"Yes. But... keeping one doesn't really suit me, I think. It's... too much power... It doesn't feel right."

Knuckles nodded with eyes softer than before. "...Maybe I was too hasty when I gave it to you."

An appreciative smile grew on Mighty's face. But it faded again as he was reminded of the surroundings. "I don't feel quite right being here, either. The sacred place of your ancestors..."

Knuckles had no answer. He only turned his gaze back towards the altar.

"Sonic said I would like it. But I feel, kind of afraid here." Mighty's eyes wandered. "...Do you think Sonic will be able to get the last Chaos Emerald?"

"He’ll have to," Knuckles murmured. "Otherwise... there is no other way I know to fix this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really hope you liked this one!! I like it a lot!
> 
> [Chapter 11 Notes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Xg_1vqkqkreSBynFYv-WNtGTbAlpaXh7ZSMlw2y2AA8/edit?usp=sharing)  
> (Just press back to return to this page)


	12. Chapter 12

Inside Tails' workshop, Amy was standing on a stool, hunkered over the workbench, and trying with all her might to loosen a screw. It was the last screw keeping a metal cap sealed over the top of a hollow, cylindrical device. Tails held the device steady and watched Amy's efforts with great suspense. But the screw didn't budge.

Finally, Amy stopped and sighed from the exertion. "Ow! That IS tight!"

"I know!" Tails sadly agreed. "I've been trying so much to open it ever since I found it at a base of Eggman's. I just KNOW it has what I need."

Amy raised the screwdriver confidently, "Oh Tails, no thingy of Eggman's can defeat me! Watch!"

With a big twist, she bore down on the screw again. Tails yelped at the sudden weight. Amy let out strained sounds of her own. This time, the tension beneath the screwdriver broke. The screw whisked free. Amy caught herself as the screw fell out and the metal cap clanged loudly to the workbench.

A huge gasp of delight came from Tails. "It's open!! Amy, you did it!"

"Yep!"

Tails scrambled with glee to get to the mechanics inside the device. He reached in. "Now I can get its power source out! And use it to power what I've been working on! They're the only ones small enough to fit."

After some wrenching around, Tails pulled out his hand. Two tiny, square-shaped batteries sat in his palm.

Amy leaned in. "That's them? They're so tiny!"

Tails nodded. "Can you hold the magnifying lens for me?"

"Yeah, Tails!"

The little fox got to work. On his workbench sat two disk-shaped devices, no bigger than sand dollars. They were turned over with their backs removed to expose their inner wiring. Tails took a pair of tweezers and carefully picked up one of the batteries. Amy angled a glass lens in front of one of the devices. Through the magnified view, Tails inserted the battery into a shallow slot in the device.

Tails smiled with relief. "It fits!"

"Yaaay!"

Next, he did the same for the second device. The moment the second battery was inserted, a sharp sound rang out from both devices. Tails and Amy jumped and covered their ears. But when the sound didn't stop, Tails started turning the tiny dials along the sides. 

The loud noise warbled in and out, until gradually, it died to a soft, staticy sound.

Eyes still wide, Amy uncovered her ears. “...Why’d they do that?”

“Because- … I don’t really know. But watch this!”

Tails snapped the backs back onto the devices and gave one to Amy.

"I'll show you what they do!"

Amy watched Tails clamor to the other end of the room. Then he turned around, pressed a button on his device, and spoke into it, “Hello!”

The sound of his voice emitted from the device in Amy's hand. She laughed with surprise. “...I heard you! But, through this thing, too!”

“Yeah! They’re communicators.”

Amy spoke into hers, “Now, listen to me. Here is your next mission. Defeat Eggman!”

Tails laughed and hurried back over to the workbench. “I just need to attach them to these pieces of fabric, so we can wear them like watches.”

“Ohhhh, good idea. I can’t wait to use these!” Amy brought hers back as well. "Then even if we get separated, we can still talk to each other!”

"Yeah!"

Tails began lining up the tools he needed--a red square of fabric, a pencil, and a pair of scissors. First he needed to determine how wide to make the wrist bands. He placed a communicator on the fabric and tilted his head a few times in thought. 

Amy watched from the other side of the workbench. “...Hey Tails?”

"Hm?"

“Since everyone’s gone, can you tell me the secret about Knuckles now?”

“O-oh,” Tails stuttered. 

Amy pressed, "They have to be good, right? Sonic and Mighty know them."

Tails fiddled with the pencil and avoided eye contact. "Well... he said not to tell anyone..."

"Who? Sonic?"

"Um, no. Knuckles."

Amy looked aghast. "...Knuckles doesn't want anyone to know about him? ...Why not? Is he shy?"

"No, it's... just that..." Tails took a piece of fabric between his fingers. "Well, the reason he doesn't want anyone to know... that's actually what the secret is."

Amy made a sad sound of understanding. She watched as Tails folded the fabric over his own wrist to measure how long it needed to be. "But it has to do with what's happening to the zones, doesn't it?"

Tails shrugged timidly.

"Tails," Amy sincerely said, and set her hand over his. "Is it making you feel bad to have to choose to say the secret or not?"

His mouth fidgeted. "...Kind of..."

"I'm sorry. I don't want to make you feel bad. It's because I want to know everything you do! That way I can help the most I can."

Tails was looking up at her now, with eyes clear and optimistic. "Well… Okay. I trust you, Amy. The secret is..." He leaned in and whispered, "...He’s from a secret place.” 

Amy gasped. “...Where?” 

“A place called Angel Island. It-”

“Angel Island??" Amy exclaimed with eyes sparkling. "You mean like the legends??”

Tails nodded up and down mirroring her excitement.

“The legendary one that flies in the sky??”

He nodded again. “WAY up high in the sky! And that's part of the secret too. Do you know what makes it fly?"

Amy smiled, "Yeah! The stories say it stays up there by the power of a- a big magical power!"

Tails grinned. "I got to learn what it's called! And what it looks like. It's called the Master Emerald. It’s like a Chaos Emerald, but HUGE! Taller than me!"

Amy leaned in, agape. "...Really? An emerald bigger than YOU?"

"Yeah. It was amazing." Tails took a pair of scissors and started to cut the fabric. "There were other emeralds too... they were with the Master Emerald. They were big too, and there were so many colors of them. I don't know what they were called. But there was seven. Just like the Chaos Emeralds."

"I can't believe that," Amy said with a smile. She clasped her hands together and spun in a circle, "So many big, colorful emeralds! There's really so much magic on our world, isn't there?" She stopped and leaned her arms on the workbench. "There's also these magic jewels called Time Stones! There's seven of those too!"

"Oh!" Tails reacted, though he was eager to continue with his own story. "Angel Island was also, really amazing. So much ruins and ancient technology... It was so different from my island. There was a big, huge, underwater place that looked like a cathedral. And this jungle with so much old buildings everywhere. And a desert! But with also ancient buildings and artifacts. And then a lava place with devices that could teleport you, and things that spun and moved and worked all on their own! And then there were these amazing ruins, like towers and more teleporters that floated in the sky..."

"That's amazing..."

"Yeah... There's so much I wanted to learn about those technologies. Especially the teleporters..." As he drifted off, Tails realized he had stopped working on his task. He shook his head and put the scissors down. "Anyway. That's where Knuckles lives. Up on that secret island, and he guards the Master Emerald up there."

“Wooow, he guards the Master Emerald…” Amy said almost breathlessly.

Tails kept his attention on attaching the band to the communicator. Amy daydreamed about the island of legend.

"What's Knuckles like?" she asked after a few minutes.

“Oh, he was-..." Suddenly, realization struck. "He was MEAN! He made traps and kept trapping us! We were just trying to stop Eggman!” Tails said indignantly. “Well… then he realized Eggman was the real bad one. And he helped us. He was really brave.” 

“Wow... So you’re friends with him, and Mighty is too. You’re all friends with Knuckles now!”

Tails scratched his ear, “U-um, well… I don’t really know if we are.”

“Oh.” Amy blinked. Then she smiled, “Well, I’d be his friend!”

Tails went back to his work. “...You can’t though, Amy.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because… remember? It’s secret. No one’s allowed on his island, really.”

“...No one?” Amy asked slowly. “So he’s... ALL ALONE?!”

Tails jumped at her volume, but nodded.

“That’s awful! I’m really going to be his friend now!”

“But, Amy-” Tails sighed in defeat as she continued.

“I’ll go way up to Angel Island one day. I’ll show him, we can be friends, and he can be not alone!”

With the first communicator now attached to a wristband, Tails turned it back over. He studied it, until he found the words he wanted to say. 

“It’s just… the Master Emerald is really full of so much power, Amy. It has to stay secret. Or else people could use it for bad. Eggman used it… It was really scary.”

Amy made a sound of sympathy. “Really?" She looked down. "...But. Tails? If that’s really why... Shouldn’t we be helping Knuckles protect the Master Emerald? Instead of having him do it all alone?”

Tails blinked with surprise. 

 

“Woah-!” 

Sonic leapt over a fireball. It blasted into a wall beside him. 

“Sheesh! Nice shot!”

His body became silhouetted as lava spewed up behind him. To his side, another eruption blasted from the earth. Sonic crouched and zipped forward in a spinball. Flashes of heat passed him as he dodged a chain of volcanic eruptions.

As Sonic barreled down a steep curve, he glanced quickly around. The last Chaos Emerald was on his mind. Here in Lava Reef Zone, he recalled Tails discovering secret chambers with Giant Rings inside--always near huge spiked crushers.

"All I gotta do is find one of those crushers, and I got my Giant Ring," Sonic said to himself. 

His ear twitched. A few waterdrops flecked onto his head and arm. 

He glanced up. More drops pattered down. 

It started to rain.

Sonic slowed. The droplets hissed as they struck the scorching earth. He reached out a hand, and sure enough, his heated skin felt stark, cold drops of water. 

He looked up. 

Above loomed the cavernous ceiling of Lava Reef Zone. No clouds. No sky to be seen. 

Solid rock.

“But…”

A blanket of steam was gathering around his ankles. It was rising across the entire landscape. A hot fog of evaporating rain. Already his field of vision was declining. The air grew heavier and muggier with each new breath.

Sonic clenched his palm into a fist. He ran.

 

Mighty had stepped out of the majesty of the Emerald Altar and into the stillness of the adjoining room. By now, his shoes were back on his feet. And his eyes marveled at the beautiful architecture that made up this sacred palace.

Soon he noticed two rectangular mosaics inlaid against one of the walls. They stood side bye side, with identical scenes depicted. Ancient symbols formed in horizontal lines along the top and bottom. And in the middle featured two strange figures. One was large, with only its upper body fitting in the frame. It was formed by a myriad of colored tiles. In its hand was what appeared to be a type of emerald. The other figure was small. Formed by a single blue color. But surrounding it was an energy made from tiles of brilliant gold.

Knuckles walked in. "Mighty."

Mighty looked over and smiled at him.

Knuckles smiled back. He walked quietly over, until he stood at his side. Knuckles looked up towards the mosaics too. But his eyes seemed to gaze beyond the ancient art above them. "...Now that you're here..." he murmured. "I wonder why I kept you away from the palace for so long. If I think about it... I think I've already shown you everything else on the island."

"I know there are reasons. I don't mind," Mighty answered with a warm smile.

Knuckles nodded. "It's only... I feel relieved, somehow... You don't feel out of place here."

Mighty's face tightened.

The reaction made Knuckles remember words Mighty had said earlier. "...Do you really not feel right here?"

Mighty's eyes swiped slowly, left to right. "In this palace? ...No. It's not really something I'm used to," Mighty answered with a slight chuckle. "I mean... I'm used to all kinds of big, splendid things. Mountains. Rivers. Waterfalls. But... the emeralds. Are much, much different."

Knuckles gave no answer. But Mighty knew he understood and agreed.

"Your ancestors made these?" Mighty asked with a motion towards the mosaics. "They're quite beautiful!"

Knuckles nodded. "It shows Sonic and Eggman. I didn't know what it meant before, but now I do."

Mighty laughed heartily, "You know?? In my head I told myself the one on the left looked like Eggman! I thought that would have to be silly!"

Knuckles laughed too.

“But I wouldn't have guessed Sonic. He's depicted quite creatively here, isn’t he?" Mighty admired. "And all the tiles here, in Eggman here. What beautiful colors they are!" His energy was beginning to fill the room. "You must always be keeping them clean, aren't you?"

Knuckles nodded.

"I'm glad..." Mighty trailed off. He took a few steps back to get a fuller view of the mosaics and put his hands on his hips. “...You know... I wonder how they came by it. Your ancestors I mean. They had this foresight, somehow. They knew exactly-… It’s... incredible…”

Knuckles nodded slowly. “I wonder too. I wonder if they knew the exact events that would take place here. Or if they themselves didn't fully know the meaning when they created them…”

Suddenly, they felt a great change in pressure. Loud cracks of energy shrieked from inside the Emerald Altar. Knuckles immediately headed in. Mighty followed. But the power so overwhelmed his senses that he was driven to stop, only a few steps in.

Mighty covered his ears and squinted through the blinding light. He could make out Knuckles, placing his hands on the purple Super Emerald. Remaining there. He seemed tiny beneath its massive, forking energy. Washed over in blinding electric purple. 

A minute passed. Mighty struggled to keep his eyes open. But in one sharp, twisting sweep, the purple energy collapsed back down into the shimmering body of the Super Emerald.

Strong ringing lingered in Mighty’s ears. The sudden stillness felt stark. Eerie. Hesitating, he walked in.

“I sure don’t like that,” Mighty commented solemnly. “Does it hurt you?”

Knuckles wiped his brow and nodded.

“Knuckles…”

“Only because the Super Emerald is emitting the totality of its power at one time. Normally they regulate their energy, and cause no harm.”

Mighty gave a slight shake of his head at the deflection.

Knuckles crossed his arms. “Hopefully Sonic will finish quickly.”

 

Sonic’s foot hit a pool of water. He tripped, and his arms plunged into the shallow, hot water. 

After a moment to gather himself, Sonic stood back up and looked around. There wasn't much to see. The steam had grown too thick. He was surrounded in white. Though he knew it was useless, Sonic tried to peer through the steam, to spot any sort of landmark. But he could only see a few inches past his nose.

Directionless. Lost in a rainy, foggy Lava Reef Zone. 

Soft patters hit at the surface of the water. The sound was soothing, even in this situation. 

Sonic stood in the pool, thinking. 

Finally, he turned, and climbed back onto solid ground, “I gotta get to higher ground. No way I'll get anywhere with this fog around.”

 

Armed with their new wrist communicators, Tails and Amy headed out from Aquatic Ruin Zone towards Emerald Hill Zone. They were weighted down by backpacks filled with jars of various sizes for collecting samples. Tails also had a coil of rope wrapped around his torso. 

For most of the journey, they played with the communicators. Running, laughing, and hiding from each other amongst the trees. Once the forest cleared, they could no longer play hiding games, and instead jogged happily together under the bright sun and over the gentle hills. Amy felt a little homesick. But she was happy that a zone on West Side Island looked so much like Green Hill Zone on her island.

Soon, the grass became speckled here and there with magenta. Amy noticed first.

“Wow, Tails! Look! This grass. It's pink!”

Tails hurried over. “Yeah that's- That's the start of Woods Zone. Where it starts messing up Green Hill Zone.”

“Ohhh…” 

Tails kneeled down and studied the color.

“Should we take a sample of it?” Amy asked.

Tails paused. He stood back up and looked into the distance. “No. I want to get a sample deep in Woods Zone.”

Amy looked where he did. Far away stood an old, rickety fence. Despite the distance, the words on a sign could be clearly read.

DANGER  
HAUNTED

Amy went forward.

Tails stumbled to follow. "A-Amy, wait."

She turned.

"Aren't you scared? It's an alpha zone."

Amy tilted her head, "I guess it's a little scary, but we're going together. And we have our communicators."

Tails smiled and opened his mouth as if to speak. But nothing came out right away. "...I was scared the first time I came here. But I'll sure feel a lot safer with you."

Amy grinned and took his hand. They both nodded to each other and climbed over the fence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope to see you next time!
> 
> [Chapter 12 Notes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DkeHqLaUa92HPxdhvk98xHzkmzdBAuECFnfIBDqEFjQ/edit?usp=sharing)  
> (Just press back to return to this page)


	13. Chapter 13

A jagged, rocky wall slid beneath Sonic's palm. It served as his only guide through Lava Reef Zone. Though the rain had lightened, the steam remained impossibly thick. An impenetrable white lay beyond his foggy limbs. Red-hot shapes glowed behind the haze, indicating pits of lava to avoid. Sonic used the glow, and the wall beneath his fingers, to navigate towards higher ground. Hopefully there the steam would clear and his sight would return.

“Can’t believe I depend on my eyes this much,” Sonic chuckled to himself. “Hope Eggman never visits on a foggy day.”

Fire blasted from a hole inches from his hand. Sonic jumped. The flames quieted, momentarily, before firing again.

Sonic got an idea. He bent down. He felt around for a stick, or any sort of thing he could ignite as a torch. As he searched against the white fog, a few pixels blipped and scattered before his eyes. 

Sonic froze. 

From the pit of his stomach came the sensation of falling. Sonic was jerked away from the ground. He started falling upwards. Wind whistled past his ears and through his spines. Faster and faster. Though moving at an incredible rate, the unchanging white fog made him feel like he was going nowhere at all.

The steam cleared in a rush. Sonic's eyes immediately latched onto the first visible surroundings--the tallest peaks of Lava Reef Zone. They poked from beneath the cottony blanket of steam he had just exited. But they were receding quickly. No, he was still falling. Sonic looked in all directions for something to stop his fall towards the sky. But there was nothing near him.

He turned to face the direction he was falling. In the distance floated an enormous, golden-yellow land mass. Countless green waterfalls gushed from its underbelly and down upon Lava Reef Zone. Amongst the falls were bizarre, floating pools of water. They formed in large, rectangular shapes in the air with no regard for gravity.

A completely different zone. And Sonic was falling up towards it. Or down. His mind struggled to comprehend his current orientation. All he knew was Lava Reef was on one side, and this zone on the other.

As a new melody began melding into Lava Reef's, Sonic knew. 

It was Labyrinth Zone.

Sonic held his nose and crashed into the water.

 

“Be careful,” Amy told Tails.

Tails gazed hesitantly down at the flower in the grass. Its tiny blossom was a deep, inky black. Its petals were outlined by a delicate line of flashing red and white light.

He picked it.

Nothing catastrophic happened.

Amy held out a glass jar, and Tails dropped the flower inside. They both watched it sit harmlessly at the bottom.

“...You think we should take a few more?” Amy asked.

Tails nodded.

Amy placed the jar down, and they both picked more tiny flowers until a good layer filled the bottom. 

Amy smiled and peered into the glass. “They’re not as scary when they’re in our jar!”

Tails smiled back. “Yeah, they’re actually kind of pretty.”

As Tails screwed the lid back on, Amy glanced around at the magenta lines of grass amongst the green. “Tails, what about the grass?”

“Oh yeah!” he smiled. “I really want to get samples of things that are weird and different here. Then I'll get the same things from Emerald Hill Zone and compare them side by side! Like the flowers, the grass, the invisible walls, the um… The water! Amy! Here the water is like, frozen in time. That's far inside the zone, though.”

Amy gasped. “I want to see!”

“Let’s go!”

 

Sonic sped through Labyrinth’s tangled, geometric corridors. Water currents had dragged him here after he first splashed down. But he realized most of Labyrinth Zone's water was actually missing. This meant he could maneuver around spears and spike traps more easily. But it also meant the amount of water pouring onto Lava Reef Zone was unimaginable.

At first Sonic considered collecting rings and clearing Labyrinth’s goal post. That would trigger a Giant Ring to appear. Theoretically. There was no telling if Labyrinth Zone would behave as normal. The water certainly wasn't acting as it should. And even if a Giant Ring did appear, he wondered whether a ring from South Island would connect to the Emerald Altar. The only place he’d ever been able to access the Emerald Altar, after all, was through the Giant Rings on Angel Island.

Instead, Sonic decided to return to Lava Reef Zone. To do that, he had to climb back to the top of Labyrinth Zone. Or, the bottom. He still didn't know which way was up.

Soon he reached it. The corridors opened. The ceiling disappeared. And the haze of Lava Reef Zone revealed itself in the sky. Sonic craned his neck as he ran, first to gape at the dizzying sight, then to scan the paths of waterfalls falling towards it. 

One of the waterfalls gushed onto an area of Lava Reef Zone that Sonic recognized. He curled into a spinball and hurled himself into it. The water pushed with force enough to propel him up and out of Labyrinth’s gravity, back towards Lava Reef.

Whipping out of his spinball, Sonic readied himself for the fast approaching ground. His eyes darted. He needed to figure out where to go before reaching the fog, where he’d be helpless yet again.

Something caught the corner of his eye. Sonic did a double take. In a crevice, there was a spiked crusher. 

“YES!” he exclaimed. "Please be there, Giant Ring!" 

A cliffside roared past him. Sonic shifted his fall towards it. The instant his foot touched the cliff, he exploded into a sprint to keep up with his velocity. He starting zig-zagging down the crevice, to slow down. Then he jumped off and landed down onto the spiked crusher.

He eagerly rushed into a secret hole in the wall. Inside, a huge ring dazzled his eyes. He jumped right in.

The earthy surroundings flashed to a deep blue. He landed.

“Sonic??”

Sonic blinked. In front of him stood Knuckles and Mighty.

“Uh… yeah…?” Sonic answered slowly. The shock of suddenly being in the cold, confined space of the Emerald Altar kept him from saying much else.

Mighty touched his arm in astonishment, “Sonic? Hey, are you alright?”

“I… guess…?”

“You teleported in...”

Sonic shook his head, trying to sort out why he was here.

“...What happened?” Knuckles asked.

Sonic shrugged with a hint of exasperation. “I touched a Giant Ring and. Here I am.”

Knuckles strode over. Laying a hand over Sonic’s chest, he closed his eyes. Only a few moments passed before he removed his hand and opened his eyes again. “...Thank you for agreeing to be my ally, Sonic.” With that, Knuckles turned and started walking away.

Sonic looked over at Mighty for an explanation. Mighty shrugged.

“You should both leave," Knuckles added.

The other two reacted in surprise.

"And Mighty,” Knuckles said slowly. “I have to tell you now. That I can’t say how safe you’ll be, if you continue as you have.”

Mighty scrunched his brow. “...What... do you mean?”

“The way you constantly move through and between dimensions,” Knuckles answered.

Mighty chuckled softly. “You give me too much credit, I think.”

Knuckles looked stonily at him, “You have made it normal but don’t lose sight of what you are really doing.”

Mighty tried to stay smiling. “...Is this really the time to be cryptic?”

“You know what I’m telling you.”

Mighty's eyes lowered.

Sonic looked over at Mighty. "Uhhh. Do you? Cuz like, I got no idea what's going on."

Mighty paused. "...He's telling me I should not use zone hops anymore." 

Sonic blinked slowly and turned his head towards Knuckles. "Okay. Can ya tell me what's goin on? What happened with the Giant Ring? What about getting the Chaos Emerald? All you're doing about it is saying this weird stuff."

Knuckles nodded. “Sonic, you have helped as far as you can. There's no need for you to stay. I’ll continue, as I have.”

“...Continue--?” Mighty looked confused. “You mean... fixing the Super Emerald when it becomes- like that? Everytime?”

“It’s what I will do. Please leave.”

“Now,” Mighty began breathlessly, “y-you can’t do that for all time.”

Sonic smirked, “Yeah, what about when you needa go to the bathroom?”

Mighty closed his eyes to hold back a trace of a smile. 

But Knuckles only grew more hardened. “You don’t understand. None of you in this world.”

“What are you talking about?”

Knuckles' chest rose and fell dramatically. He looked about to burst. But as the other two watched him, he quieted, and suddenly grew cold. “...I’ll do this myself. You guys stay out of it.”

“...What kind of answer is that??” Sonic quipped. “Like we’re alright just leavin you? Look, we ALL know your plan’s dumb. You said yourself things’re gonna get worse if this keeps up. So let’s just work together on this. Knuckles.”

Mighty only watched the echidna. “...I agree.”

Knuckles turned back to them. “...Let’s put this to rest, then. Tell me your suggestions.”

Sonic stuttered, “Well--I dunno, you gotta help us out here. We don’t know anything bout this zonal disturbance-y stuff.”

Knuckles looked to Mighty. “You?”

Mighty only bit his lip.

“Look-” Sonic glared.

Knuckles interrupted, “Leave now. And do NOT return to Angel Island.”

Mighty's eyes went wide.

“Wha-?!” Sonic pursued the echidna’s steps as he started walking away. “Hey, Knuckles, I ain’t leavin til we got a plan-”

“You are trespassing. And if you have forgotten why I am Guardian, I can remind you.”

“I don’t care bout all that,” Sonic asserted with quills bristling. He grabbed Knuckles’ arm. “Places are goin alpha, and if you think-”

Knuckles lodged a blow. Sonic was sent skidding across the tiles.

“Hey hey, stop!” Mighty barked.

Sonic stood up and rubbed his cheek with a smirk. “Gettin too attached to me. Punching me soft as that?” He rotated his arm and started towards Knuckles, “But I told ya, I ain’t leaving til you listen to me. And if fighting’s the way you wanna do thi-”

Mighty caught Sonic by the arm. He forced him backwards. 

“Wha- Mighty??”

Sonic strained against him, but it was no use. Mighty pulled him out of the Emerald Altar and into the adjacent room. 

“Yo, what gives!” Sonic asked. “I can take him.”

“And whoever wins, what then?” Mighty countered, in a voice that made Sonic flinch. Then Mighty softened, and shook his head, “Forgive me, Mr. Hedgehog. That will not change his mind. You will only wedge him further that way.”

“Mighty-man,” he pressed sincerely, “I can't just do nothing. There’s gotta be something we can do.”

“There are many things we can do, but mending zones is not one of them." After his words, Mighty's mouth fidgeted. And he added falteringly, "Everything will make itself well in time.”

Sonic looked sharply into his eyes. “Do you truly believe that?”

Mighty seemed reluctant to answer. But Sonic only looked at him intently.

Mighty finally answered in a low voice, “I do believe it. ...Well... I did..." He turned away and put his face in his hand. "This whole thing… it’s... it's just beyond me, Mr. Hedgehog.”

Sonic sighed slowly to his answer. He rubbed his own arm, where Mighty had grabbed him.

After a pause, Sonic lightly smacked Mighty’s chest. “Hey, let’s go for a walk.”

 

Pure blue. Billowing clouds. Calm, majestic winds. Here ancient, colossal structures bobbed slowly in the air. Yellow-green walkways, pillars, bridges, and dark emerald towers formed a floating sanctuary in the sky. All was overgrown with lush moss and vines. Though most of the polished stones had lost their luster long ago, a rare few still glistened in the sun with their original brilliance.

A thin ray of red light pierced the sky. Its source, a teleporter. Through the light, two figures emerged and stepped into Sky Sanctuary Zone. Sonic had led himself and Mighty here directly from Hidden Palace Zone. 

Mighty gasped in dismay at the state of the sanctuary. Parts were missing. And even more showed signs of heavy damage. “...What happened? So much is gone…” 

Sonic looked at him. "You know this place too?"

Mighty nodded.

Sonic gave a nod back. Then he looked back out at the broken sanctuary. “Eggman.”

They walked quietly together along the beautiful pathways of Sky Sanctuary. For a long time, neither spoke. Mighty’s eyes kept fixed out towards the swirling clouds. Sonic stayed hunkered in thought. His mind was whirling with thoughts of the Giant Ring. About how it hadn't taken him to the last Chaos Emerald. There had to be a reason.

Mighty’s voice broke the stillness. “I’m grateful. That you were here, Sonic. To stop Eggman.”

Their pathway eventually met up with a group of small, fluffy clouds. Sonic flopped face down into one and gave out a long groan.

He heard a chuckle from Mighty. The armadillo sat cross-legged on another cloud. “You alright?”

Sonic nodded into the fluff. “Thinking.”

Time passed quietly. The sun’s warmth against Sonic’s spines was occasionally interrupted by a cool, gentle wind. At some point, he heard Mighty get up and leave. But Sonic stayed as he was. He had to figure out why he couldn't get the last Chaos Emerald. 

It couldn't be a coincidence that strange behavior in the Giant Rings always involved the same emerald. The purple Chaos Emerald. And it was the very one causing issues in the Emerald Altar.

Sonic racked his brain. The strangest part of it all was how the Giant Rings behaved one way before Mighty's Chaos Emerald was brought back to the altar and another way after. Beforehand, the Giant Rings disappeared when Sonic tried to use them. After, the Giant Rings took him straight to the Emerald Altar. And that was only supposed to happen once all Chaos Emeralds were taken out of their hidden dimension.

A realization came over Sonic. That was it. His face lifted from the pillowy cloud. "...It must not be in its hidden dimension anymore... that's why I can't get to it from a Giant Ring..."

“Here,” a voice interrupted.

Sonic turned his head. Mighty offered out his bag with a small collection of fruits inside.

“There are a few gardens, here and there,” Mighty told him. “Knuckles tends them.”

Sonic sat up with renewed energy. “Thanks, man.” He tossed a few berries in his mouth and chewed happily. "I think I got an idea how to fix this!"

"My! Do you?"

"Yeah!" Sonic answered. But gradually, his expression lowered. “Wish I could ask Knuckles if it's right."

Mighty nodded solemnly.

Sonic gave out a frustrated sigh. "I just don’t get it. He’s so stubborn. He thinks he knows it all, but HE’S the one who doesn’t get it! Not when he’s here stuck on this island, stuck in that palace? He’s just got no idea what’s really going on past all this,” he motioned widely at the zone.

Mighty waited. “...I do think he understands, Sonic.”

Sonic sighed, “Whatever.”

Mighty placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. Sonic at first tensed with annoyance, but this quickly dissipated.

“...Anyway!” Sonic said lightly, and popped another berry into his mouth.

Mighty laughed sympathetically, “You didn’t meet him under good circumstances. I suppose no one really does, considering he’s the Guardian…”

Sonic got off his cloud and threw his arms up, “Yeah, except Eggman somehow!”

Mighty nodded gently. “Talk to him. I think you’ll both discover things you misunderstood about one another.”

Sonic leered at him. “Talk? Knuckles.”

“He likes to talk.”

“I think YOU'RE the one who likes to talk,” Sonic teased.

Mighty laughed. 

Sonic smirked.

“...But. It does take two, Sonic. Remember. We’ve seen many people, and many places. All he’s ever known is Angel Island. And himself.”

Sonic thought the point over as if it were his first time realizing it.

Mighty continued. “Everyone... has one desire in common, I think. To be understood. Do you think so?”

“Mmyeah?” Sonic answered half-heartedly.

“I’m certain, that Knuckles would be happy if you came to understand his side of events. Of when you came to Angel Island. Then, in time... You’re sure to find common ground. With lots to share together.”

Sonic smirked, as if about to make some quip, until he noticed Mighty getting misty-eyed.

“Hey hey, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t know…” Mighty’s voice cracked, “I just hope everything turns out alright.”

“Hey! I know I ain’t through! Not til we gotten to the bottom of this.”

“Maybe we should listen to him,” Mighty reasoned.

Sonic came up to him excitedly, “See, all we gotta do is find the last emerald right? I was thinking. If we can’t get it through a Giant Ring, it must mean it got taken OUT of its hidden dimension. You know. Like, someone must have it!”

“Knuckles can… sense when they’re taken out. Wouldn’t he have told us?”

“Heck if I know!” Sonic remarked playfully. “When's he ever been good at that? Anyway, I know JUST the person to track down that emerald. Tails! Let’s go back!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope people don't hate dialogue-heavy scenes lol
> 
> [Chapter 13 Notes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WhR4WCUMWY2X8WANUJA8tOFrC2jnQ2ZIcJt8iqemxMk/edit?usp=sharing)  
> (Just press back to return to this page)


	14. Chapter 14

Sonic watched fluffy shapes move in slow waves beneath the Tornado. Now and then, fog would waft gently up and mist tiny droplets across his face. Cool and soft.

After wiping the water from his goggles, Sonic reached over, and knocked a rhythmic pattern on the Tornado’s wing. Mighty looked over. He was sitting backwards on top of the wing to protect his eyes from wind and debris.

“Gettin close to West Side Island!” Sonic shouted to him over the noise of the propeller. “I’m gonna take us below the clouds!”

Mighty gave a thumbs up.

Slowly, Sonic pushed the control stick forward. They dipped down. For a moment, all was white. Then, the Tornado broke gently out, to show the clouds retreating in a thick, cottony blanket above them.

Sonic felt a touch on his shoulder. He turned to see Mighty pointing happily at the sky. A rainbow. It arched bright and clear against the blue.

Sonic grinned wide.

But the beautiful colors reminded him of recent events. Slowly his smile faded.

Hidden Palace.

Knuckles.

As Sonic faced forward again, the scene played over in his mind. Though he had his own plan of action now, he couldn't understand why Knuckles refused to accept help. What felt especially strange was how the Guardian placed a hand over Sonic's chest and closed his eyes, as if trying to sense something within him. He remembered Knuckles doing it one time before--after Mighty had hopped them from Starlight Zone to Angel Island Zone to avoid the spikeball. Back when the zonal disturbances first began. Knuckles did it then, too.

"...Does this... have to do with me?" Sonic asked beneath his breath. 

Geometric shapes. Sonic blinked. The sky was suddenly pink. And the colossal shape of a mountain jumped in front of him.

“W-wah?!”

He yanked the control stick. The Tornado careened just over the jagged peak. Another mountain. He dove sharply. A wall of yellow flooded into view. The Tornado’s propellers tore into some kind of foliage. A rush of yellow color flew into his eyes. He couldn’t see. The plane rolled. A jarring bang. He hadn’t time to catch his breath when another bang rocked the plane.

Sonic was thrust into the control panel. The plane lurched to a stop.

Through the dull ringing in his ears, Sonic heard the sputters of the Tornado’s engine. He tried to lift himself up.

“Mighty? I-”

His head was spinning. Something was pressing into the back of his shoulders. 

He reached up. Dirt gave beneath his fingers. The Tornado was upside-down, and grounded.

With a pained groan, Sonic slid himself from the cockpit. He flopped down into the shallow space between his seat and the ground. He huffed. Then slowly he pulled his goggles off. They were covered in thick pollen and shredded remains of soft, yellow petals. 

Hand over hand, Sonic crawled out from beneath the Tornado. The surroundings were dim. Shafts of sunlight pierced the ground from a canopy above. Sonic looked towards the Tornado's wing, where Mighty had been sitting. No one was there.

 

Sonic zigzagged through a forest of thick green stems. He was following the damaged path created by the Tornado. Above, a low canopy of enormous dandelions loomed. Their petals were a soft yellow, patterned with pink checkers. They passed in hot colors over Sonic's head as the sunlight shone bright behind them. 

Piled along the ground were big fluffs of pollen. They were the size of balloons. And like balloons, they scattered around at the slightest disturbance.

Sonic leapt. He bounced off a diamond-shaped leaf, onto another, and another, to traverse the dandelion forest more easily. 

A red shape passed over his head. Looking over, Sonic realized it was Mighty’s shoe. His leg was dangling beneath the canopy of flowers.

Sonic vaulted right up between the blossoms. A gentle pink sky met his eyes. Against it towered the same purple mountains that had sent the Tornado crashing to the ground. All else, as far as the eye could see, were endless fields of dandelions. They rolled up and down in tall, tall waves across the landscape.

Sonic stepped across the cushiony petals towards Mighty. The armadillo was sitting back against a blossom and cradling his arm. A cut ran from his upper arm and across his side.

"Glad I found ya. You okay?"

Mighty half-smiled, “Think the propeller nicked me.” 

“Nicked ya??” Sonic gave a slight laugh at the understatement. He knelt beside him. “Does it hurt?” 

“It didn’t, but now... I think my body’s catching up.” Mighty squinted both eyes. “Really, really rather not move it right now...”

“Hey hey~ Relax. Lemme getcha.” 

Mighty watched as Sonic started untying the bag wrapped around his other arm. Without the emerald, it was now completely empty. Mighty had folded it up like a bandana and secured it to his arm. Now Sonic unfolded it and pulled it carefully under Mighty's arm to make a sling.

"You’ll be alright. We’ll give ya a nice bandaid once we’re back at Tails’.”

Mighty nodded, grateful that Sonic had thought of the idea. His arm would be kept immobile and in less pain. He rested his head back. As he waited, he watched pollen drift lightly in the air above them.

“...How’s your plane?” 

“We’ll find out!” Sonic answered, rather candidly. He finished tying the two ends of the sling together and gave one final tug to tighten the knot.

Mighty closed his eyes in relief. “Thank you.”

Sonic stood up and offered his hand down, “You ready to get up?”

“A moment, Sonic… My heart’s just pounding."

Sonic’s smile slowly faded. He crouched back down, and murmured softly, “I’m sorry, man. I dunno what happened… I just- I didn’t even see that mountain.”

Mighty repositioned himself painfully, “It was the grid. It warped us someplace else.”

“Grid...?”

Mighty cocked his ear. “You’ve not seen it? It’s part of the strangeness going on. A grid pattern, that glows, and takes you to a different place.”

“Guess I haven't. It sure is getting hard to get things done around here with all this glitching, isn't it?"

Mighty nodded and reached up a hand. Sonic took it and helped him to his feet.

When they returned back to the crash site, they found the dents in the Tornado’s body to be surprisingly minor. But the nose was covered in a heap of dandelion fluff. By the armful, Sonic started pulling it off. 

He stopped. Mighty looked with concern. Sonic took in a huge gasp, and then let out a sneeze. Pollen shot into the air.

Mighty chuckled tiredly, “Bless you.”

“Thanks,” Sonic sighed. He continued to pull off the debris, but had to stop, and sneeze again.

“Here,” Mighty started pulling too, with his uninjured arm.

“Thanks,” Sonic laughed with watery eyes.

At last, they revealed the propellers. Two of the three were bent. One of them was bent at almost a 90 degree angle. 

Sonic rubbed his temple with a long groan.

“...I can bend everything back into place,” Mighty suggested.

“Nah,” Sonic sighed as he stood up. “You’re buff, Mighty, but if the blades aren’t at this perfectly perfect angle, it can really mess up my engine. We don’t wanna go crashing into the ocean.” He turned to him. “Please tell me you got a hop outta here?”

Mighty nodded cheerfully. “I’m familiar with this land. It’s one of my favorite places.”

“Don’tcha say that about every place?” Sonic said with a playful crossing of his arms.

Mighty beamed. “There is too much to love in the world!”

Sonic laughed and patted his friend’s shoulder. Mighty looked up, and pointed a finger, to picture the route in his mind.

“Now…” 

The armadillo moved his finger from one spot to another, as if to visualize the path through multiple connection points. Several times he stopped, shook his head, and started over. But suddenly, he slowed down. His face turned serious. “Ah…”

Sonic looked at him.

“I just remembered…”

“Yeah?”

Mighty looked hesitant. “Knuckles. I just remembered he… advised me not to use the zone hops anymore.” Seeing Sonic’s incredulous expression, Mighty quickly waved his hand and added, “I know we don’t have a choice in this situation! But.”

“That’s what your Mighty Rules of Safeness are for. Right~”

Mighty chuckled. “I suppose so.”

 

Tails stopped Amy with his arm.

“Tails?” She looked forward. “What is it?”

Tails peered intently at the grass. “I think this is where the ground disappeared…”

“Disappeared?” Amy asked.

Tails bent down and started crawling. He felt around the ground with both hands.

Though it seemed strange, Amy waited, and soon saw one of his arms phase into the ground. “...WOAH.”

Tails lifted the coil of rope over his head. “Amy, can you tie this to that palm tree by you?”

“Yeah, Tails. You’re going to climb down it?”

He nodded. “It’s safe. I just want to know it more, I guess. The first time, I fell, and ran really scared out of it!”

After the rope was secured to the tree, Tails fed the other end down into the unseeable drop. He planted both heels into the ledge and began lowering himself down.

Amy laughed. “Your body’s disappearing!”

Tails laughed too, “Heeelp! The ground’s pulling me under!”

“Nooo! Run! It’s quicksand!”

Once Tails’ head disappeared beneath the grass, Amy knelt down. “What’s it like?”

“Just… dark.” Gradually, as his eyes adjusted, Tails saw the same brown and orange patterns associated with the zone’s geology. “Wait, it’s… I can see the rocks! It’s like I’m inside them, but I’m not touching them, somehow... I can't even see my own hands or body.”

“That’s cool! I want to see, Tails!”

“Okay!”

He lowered himself to the bottom. Once Amy joined beside him, they marveled at how they could hear and touch each other, but see only rock. Textures and patterns shifted in front of their eyes as they walked, until they emerged out from the wall, and back onto the open grass.

“I loved that!” Amy beamed. 

“We should still be careful,” Tails told her as he slid his backpack off. He unzipped it and pulled out a hammer-like tool. “There’s an invisible wall right here. I’m going to take a piece as a sample.”

“An INVISIBLE wall?”

Tails nodded enthusiastically. He walked forward, and pressed his hand up against thin air to demonstrate.

Amy rushed up and touched it too. “Tails that’s soooo coooool!!”

Tails just smiled bright and felt along the wall for a good rock to break. 

“Wait, Tails. Here.” Amy held out nothing to him. 

Tails looked at her.

Amy held it out more, “There’s already broken pieces on the ground! Look, see? Take it.”

They both giggled as Tails took the invisible rock from her. He turned his fingers to get a look at the nothing from different angles, then he laughed, “Thanks for nothing!”

“You’re welcome!”

Tails headed back over to his backpack, “It must’ve happened when, um- him, Mighty. When he ran into the wall.”

“Ow! He ran into it?”

“Yeah.”

Amy helped Tails put his backpack back on. “Hey Tails, are you afraid of Mighty?”

“Uh-no! I’m not,” he answered quickly.

“Oh, okay. I just wondered!” Amy took his hand.

Tails smiled and held hers too, and they continued on.

 

The two reached a waterfall sooner than Tails expected. He had intended to find the one he had jumped through earlier, but many closer ones were available to them. He just hadn’t noticed, being so frantic the first time.

As Tails collected a sample of water, Amy gasped, “Tails! I think I see- eep!”

The little fox turned to see she had tripped. Her foot seemed caught inside the ground. 

“Oh, that happened to me,” Tails told her as he hurried over. “It’s okay, you just need to-”

His words garbled.

Amy blinked. “...Tails?”

The zone’s music froze on a single note. Shapes jumbled. Amy could see her friend, but couldn’t hear him. Only the frozen, drawled sound. 

“Tails...?” she repeated fearfully.

The surroundings became overrun with foreign shapes and colors until no area around her was recognizable. Amy looked quickly down at her own hands as if to make sure she still existed. And there her hands were. With jumping, vivid squares dancing across them. Tears sprang from her eyes. 

The communicator. Through the strange noises, she realized Tails’ voice was coming through.

“-ou hear this? Amy? Am-”

She pressed the button, “Yes! Tails, Tails, I hear now!”

“Oh, I-” his voice stopped.

“T-Tails?" She looked around. "Please help...”

“What, where are you? Where did you go?”

“It’s a glitched place… I can’t see anything.” Her breathing quickened, “I don’t know what to do.”

“M… maybe if you… Let me think.”

Amy caught movement near her. A collection of squares where Tails had once stood. She pressed the button on the communicator. “Tails…? Can you wave your hand?”

The squares wavered in a bizarre, but regular pattern.

“I waved just now,” he responded.

“...I think I see you.”

“Wha- really?? ...I don’t see you anywhere.”

Amy's voice brightened, “I think. A little… you look really weird though.”

“...Amy. Try to touch me. When Sonic got glitched here… I was able to help him when I grabbed him.”

Amy shook her head, "I'm scared to move...”

“Okay, I’ll come over, I’ll come where I last saw you,” he told her assuredly.

The collection of squares came closer. As they did, the zone’s palette blinked. Amy tried to ignore it. Once the shapes came closer, she reached out her hand. 

Though the shapes appeared geometric, they felt soft and warm beneath her fingers. Amy knew immediately that this was her friend’s hand. She felt Tails' fingers envelop around hers. And his other hand clasped around her wrist. Shapes began clearing away. The bizarre noises smoothed out. Amy could see orange pointed ears. Then with further withdrawing pixels, parts of his eyes, then a snout.

Amy jumped forward and squeezed him.

Tails seemed shaken. He didn’t hug back.

“That was scary!” Amy exclaimed.

Tails gulped. “Did that hurt…?”

Amy shook her head and pulled away.

“You came back in... in square shapes. They were all... blinking…”

Amy wiped her eyes. “Maybe it felt a little funny, but I’m alright. I’m just glad to come back! I never thought I’d be so glad to see this weird zone, with the pink grass and weird clouds! The one I was in was so much scarier.”

Tails looked left to right at the surroundings. “...You really don't know what's going to happen in an alpha zone. No wonder the stories are so scary..." He looked back at Amy with determination. "I think we have enough samples. Let’s go back now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sad to admit I have not broken the trend of crashing the Tornado whenever it makes an appearance lolol! 
> 
> Thanks for reading! For visuals of how the dandelion zone looks, check out the chapter notes below!
> 
> [Chapter 14 Notes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wrfqS9W7WidyfrI8Judd2cMxSNHX2B-XRPrKV5gmemU/edit?usp=sharing)  
> (Just press back to return to this page)


	15. Chapter 15

Tails hauled his backpack onto the workbench with a metallic thud.

So did Amy, with an exaggerated sigh. “Too heavy!” 

Tails nodded in agreement.

The two had made it back to the treehouse without any further trouble. Amy looked cheerfully around. Now surrounded by the piles of technology stored in Tails’ Control Room, she felt revitalized in their task. She unzipped her bag. “How will you study the glitches, Tails?”

Tails gave no reply. Instead he nervously watched her hoist one of the jars from the bag. When he saw flowers flashing in odd colors behind the glass, he lowered his head in relief. 

“Tails?” Amy asked. “Are you okay?”

Tails smiled and started opening his bag too. “I’m alright. It’s just that… You know, I was scared all of our samples might stop being glitchy. If we took them out of the alpha zone, I mean.”

Amy gaped at him. Slowly, she looked down at her jar, then back up at him. “...I didn’t even think of that!”

“Yeah,” he said sheepishly.

“Imagine doing all that scary stuff for nothing!”

“I know! I only thought of it as we were walking back. I got really scared!” Tails laughed. “But... I’m glad we can do this.”

After all the jars were grouped together on the workbench, Tails turned his attention to a metal cabinet. He started rummaging loudly through one of the shelves. He spoke back towards Amy in a muffled voice, “And I have a thing from Eggman. It’s-” 

His elbow knocked into something, and several objects clanged sharply to the ground.

“Owww,” he winced at the sound. He looked back at Amy. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

“That’s alright. Just don’t make yourself get hurt!” Amy told him. She had already picked up the things that had fallen and was putting them back. 

Tails smiled. Then he shifted back to search the shelf. “What I’ll do is use another thing from Eggman. I call it the Code Teller. I’ll show you it! It tells a bunch of numbers of objects. Like…”

Amy only tilted her head.

“Like, all flowers from Emerald Hill have the same number. Like a- well, like a code.”

“A code?” Amy repeated curiously. “Each thing has a code?”

“Yeah!”

“What does a code do?”

Tails pulled out a strange device. It was rectangular and rounded. From the bottom, a blunt needle stuck out to connect to a small, flat, red, translucent plate. “I’m not sure. But! I’m going to compare them. And I bet we’ll find out something!”

 

The white of the zone hop slipped away. On the other side, Sonic was greeted with dazzling sky blue. He landed down upon a path paved with brown and turquoise blocks. 

“Ahhh~ Sky Canyon!”

“So! It has a name?” remarked Mighty. He was held secure in Sonic’s arms. “I’d be- woOAH!”

Sonic hurdled off the pathway. The air rushed by as they soared headlong across an enormous canyon. From it rose a splendid landscape of rocky pinnacles, rolling clouds, and large windmills. Their slotted blades turned calmly on the wind amidst a bounding, exhilarating tune. 

Sonic smiled. 

His shoes skidded onto a rail. In a hard swoop, he grinded across, then leapt onto another.

Mighty kept his eyes closed. It wasn’t until he felt the steady pattern of Sonic’s feet hitting solid ground again that he looked around at the surroundings. “Alright…”

“Yeah, tell me which way,” Sonic said.

They zipped past stacks of colorful diamonds. Mighty, with his uninjured arm, held a broken dandelion stem from the last zone. It was large and rigid, about the size of a walking stick. He used it to point in the distance. “South, until we come upon that windmill there. The next hop is just near it.”

“Got it~” Sonic chimed. 

But a sharp pain snapped across Sonic’s forehead. He skidded to a stop. 

Mighty threw his arm out to catch himself. “Wha- S-Sonic? What happened?”

Sonic let go of him and crouched over. 

Mighty got to his feet. “Sonic? Are you hurt?” 

Sonic squeezed his eyes shut. Searing purple colors expanded behind his eyelids.

“What’s wrong? ...Sonic?” Mighty asked. He touched his shoulder.

Sonic braced against uncontainable energy. All he could hear, all he could see, was the unleashed power of the purple emerald. It pierced his mind like electric knives. But through the surge was a tinge of something else. Something new. Yellow numbers blipped about. A mechanical sound. One he had heard once before.

A numb sensation pressed on his shoulder.

Sonic remembered that he had a shoulder. And he remembered the ground beneath his feet. 

He also remembered that he wasn’t alone. Mighty. He was here. Somewhere.

“Sonic? Can you hear m-”

“I don’t feel right…” Sonic finally squeezed out. “The purple emerald…”

“...You feel it?”

Sonic pressed his hand to his forehead. “...Sorry, I can’t- I can’t hear ya. Can’t hear myself... I’m talkin just to keep grounded.”

Mighty took his arm, “You should sit dow-”

“No no, I got it,” Sonic interrupted, pulling away. “I got it…”

Mighty looked doubtfully at him.

Sonic straightened to run a hand over his spines. “Hoo! Okay. That’s better.”

Mighty’s ears twitched at a rising sound from behind. A strong wind. It gusted against them and tossed clouds across the high platform they stood on. Mighty took hold of Sonic’s arm to keep him steady on his feet. 

Even as the air quieted, Mighty kept a firm hold. “...This has happened before to you?” 

Sonic nodded. He squinted, then shook his head, as if to drive away residual effects of the emerald. “Yeah. It’s happened. When I was getting an emerald. That's when it first happened... Then I think it happened again, when I was dreaming. I was trying to tell Knuckles. ...But he wouldn’t tell me anything about it.”

Both paused in uncertainty. The zone’s bouncy tune clashed with the tone of the moment. 

Sonic sighed. He turned his head to look into the distance, at the windmill they needed to reach. 

“...Are you sure you feel alright?” Mighty pressed. “We’ve been through quite a lot! Don’t overexert yourself.”

“No problem~” Sonic answered beautifully. “I’m fine. Let’s get to Tails’ as soon as we can.”

Mighty smiled, with doubt, “Alright.”

They were speeding through again. In no time, Sonic reached the windmill and spotted the zone hop shining against the rocks. He ran straight in. The zone waiting on the other side enveloped them in inky darkness. It was a narrow passageway, with a wall sitting right in their path.

“W-WAAAH??” 

They collided into the wall and were bounced, again and again, down a dark hole. Boingy sounds told Sonic that bumpers were tossing them around. The final bumper propelled them out of the hole and to the ground. They rolled to a stop.

“Sonic. D-don’t forget the Rules of Safeness,” Mighty reminded breathlessly.

Sonic chuckled. “Sorry sorry, I was just so focused.”

Mighty led them out of the zone, Chrome Gadget Zone, and towards the next zone hop. This time, he used the flower stem to test the other side before letting Sonic go through. They continued this way through a series of three, four, five more hops. Finally, they warped into the mountainous landscape of Hill Top Zone.

Sonic didn't begin running right away. He paused. And smiled, tiredly. “…So this’s how ya do it.”

Mighty looked at him.

“I never thought of it before, but. You don’t got a plane, like me. Or anything like that, to get you from island to island. This is what you use.”

Mighty laughed. “...Yes. This is how I pass over the seas, to journey this great world of ours.”

Sonic’s eyes looked out across the landscape. “...I love the world.”

“Me too,” Mighty murmured.

Sonic only smiled wider as he took Mighty into his arms again and sped into Hill Top Zone's enormous geology. But his pace was much slower than normal. He felt tired. Very tired. It would be a straight shot back towards Aquatic Ruin Zone. And he was grateful.

After some time, Mighty spoke up, “...I just fear others knowing them."

Sonic looked at him. “Huh?”

“The zone hops," Mighty explained. "That's why I've been secretive of them until now." He looked solemn. "They're not too stable. Actually, they're... quite unsafe. I only center my routes along maybe ten that I know are reliable. ...Many of the others disappear and reappear often. Or never lead to the same place twice.”

Sonic grinned, “Sounds fun! Jump through a hop never knowing what’s on the other side!”

Mighty shook his head. But he continued his thought, “Their danger makes me hesitant to tell anyone how I really get around. But more than that… If more people learn about the zone hops, I'm afraid Eggman might too. I really fear them... in his hands...”

Sonic laughed. “Ah, Eggman knows about em. If it exists, Eggman knows. He’s prolly already using em to his advantage somehow. Nah, Mighty. No use worryin.”

 

Wooden planks jostled beneath Amy’s feet. She was headed for the Eating Room when she caught the sound of voices in the forest. She stopped and leaned over the railing.

She gasped. “Sonic and Mighty are back!”

Although she ran, the other two still reached the front door before her.

“Yay! Did you guys fix the zones?” Amy asked with anticipation.

“Almost,” Sonic answered. “Just need one more emerald.”

Amy gasped at Mighty. “Your-! Your arm! What happened?”

Sonic cupped his mouth and shouted up, “TAAAAILS!”

Mighty chuckled. “Just scratched I hope. I need to bandage it up.”

When Sonic got no answer from Tails within two seconds, he picked up the Emerald Reader. “Hey, this thing alright? Looks kinda busted up." He looked for a button to turn it on.

Amy walked over, holding Mighty’s hand, “The screen’s broke. But the sound still works. Tails is going to fix it after he’s done researching some things we got.”

“No time!” Sonic quipped with a playful chop of the air. “Look, I can just listen for this thing’s beeps to find the last emerald, right? Back in a jiff!”

Sonic revved his feet to speed off, but he was plucked into the air by Mighty.

“Wait wait wait!” came Mighty's voice. "Already? Don't you think you should get some rest first?"

"No?"

Amy giggled.

Mighty laughed with slight exasperation. “You can’t have gotten more than three hours of sleep since I’ve been with you. Won't you try to get some more?”

“No. Not when I'm SO close. All I gotta do is use this," he raised the Emerald Reader, "to get the purple Chaos Emerald. Then all this'll be fixed."

Mighty sighed, "I suppose tha-"

All three stopped at the sound of shouting outside. They looked out the window.

“It’s Becky,” Sonic told them. He went out the front door and onto the porch.

“Oh, S-Sonic!” Becky, the little bear, stuttered from the ground. “There’s- I came to- there’s trouble! The zone, it’s- it’s all messed up!”

Immediately Sonic jumped off the porch. Mighty and Amy ran after him, but were forced to stop at the wooden railing.

Mighty sighed. “He’s gone…” 

“He’s like that, Mighty. He goes and does things,” Amy said sadly. “I wish I was as fast as him…” 

Mighty smiled and petted her head.

Amy beamed up at him.

"You always help, wherever it's needed, Little Rose. You don't need speed to do that."

Amy only beamed brighter, and skipped about the room with glee.

"Oh," Mighty noticed. "Sonic left the Emerald Reader behind."

“I guess he'll come back for that!" Amy chirped. She hurried back over to Mighty. "C’mon! I’ll take care of your arm, Mighty.”

 

Tails brushed eraser debris from his paper. He blew at the stubborn last few before looking back down at the numbers on the Code Teller’s screen. When he heard skipping footsteps enter the room, he made no movement, knowing it was Amy.

“Tails? Did you know Sonic and Mighty are back?” came Amy's voice.

“Yeah,” Tails answered while copying numbers onto his notepad. “It's just I'm concentrating.”

“Oh okay. Do you have a first aid kit?”

Tails turned, “What's wrong?”

“Mighty's hurt. I'm going to help him though!” Amy said proudly.

Tails nodded and stood up. “It’s in here.”

Amy watched him duck under the workbench. “How is your research going?"

“I’m just recording data for now,” Tails told her as he pulled a small duffle bag from beneath the workbench. “After I'm done with that, I can try to figure things out!” His smile faded slightly, “Uh, I might... have to be in here for awhile.”

 

With soapy washcloth in hand, Amy stood on her knees beside a sitting Mighty. Gingerly she began cleaning the area around Mighty’s cut. Not two rubs in, she saw yellowish residue rub into the washcloth.

"...Mightyyy...?" she grimaced, and showed him the washcloth.

"Oh! Dear!" Mighty reacted. He looked down at his own arm. "...You know what that is?"

"What?"

"Pollen!" Mighty laughed. 

"Pollen!" Amy repeated the idea.

He nodded. "A little while ago, I was in a zone of huge dandelions. Pollen everywhere! I thought I had brushed it all off."

"Well, it'd be hard to see on your arm because it's yellow too!" Amy observed.

"Must be!" Mighty smiled. "We better clean all of this off first, before we bandage my arm."

While Mighty cleaned the pollen dust from his fur, Amy prepared another washcloth. Once it was well-soaped, she began wiping his shell, since he couldn't reach, and hummed a made up tune.

“Are you staying with us, Mighty?” Amy asked after some time.

Mighty nodded and set the washcloth down. “I’ll look after you and Tails until the zones quiet again.”

Amy threw her arms up, “YAAAAAAAAAAY!”

Mighty opened his arms and she hugged into him.

After a big squeeze, she giggled, and looked up at him. “Your shell is all shiny now.”

“Thank you so much. I’m sure it looks wonderful.”

Next, Amy finished treating Mighty’s injury. She put ointment on the cut and bandaged it up, with a little bit of help. Mighty moved and flexed his arm. It still felt sore, but no bones were broken like he feared. He didn't even need the sling anymore.

“Well, Sonic’s gone off, but I was planning to make something to eat for everyone,” Mighty told her. “My arm is still quite sore. Would you like to help me?”

“Yeah, Mighty!”

The two moved to the Eating Room. Together they explored Tails' cabinets to gather up ingredients and cooking utensils. They found the big pot they needed, and many different kinds of vegetables--potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, celery, and onions, along with a few herbs. Amy and Mighty worked side by side to slice them up. Amy cut the carrots and celery, but the others were better left for Mighty, especially the onions. All of these they placed into a great pot of water, and set it to cook on top of the woodstove.

“It smells good and yummy!!” Amy cheered.

Mighty laughed. “I’m glad!”

As they waited for the soup to simmer, Amy passed the time with a made up song.

"Cook oh cook yummy soup~ Cook so we can eat you soon~"

Mighty bobbed his head happily to the tune. After a few minutes, his ear perked. "Oh. Sonic. He's returned."

Amy gasped happily and scampered for the door.

It opened, and Sonic entered with panting breath.

Amy smiled. “Sonic!”

“In one piece,” Mighty commented as Amy gave Sonic a hug.

Sonic gave an exhausted peace sign.

Amy kept her arms around him and beamed up, “We’re making soup! You smell it?”

“Sure do," he answered sluggishly.

She let go. "It'll be a little until it's ready. Do you want the Emerald Reader?"

"Actually..." Sonic droned. "I think I needa take a break. Just a few minutes."

"Oh. Okay!"

Sonic grabbed a rolled up blanket, whipped it open, and flopped right onto the floor.

Amy laughed at the comical action. She stepped forward to join him, but she felt Mighty's hand stop her. Quietly he put a finger over his mouth, motioning her to let Sonic be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Amy and Mighty! 
> 
> Can you believe we're only 2 chapters away from the halfway point of the story? Thanks for joining along on the adventure!
> 
> [Chapter 15 Notes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1c1QoeTEmfMLimksx1Fm-Y__VlAxUiNFRG6wLU2e68SM/edit?usp=sharing)  
> (Just press back to return to this page)


	16. Chapter 16

Sonic opened his eyes softly.

Wooden support beams hung over him. He laid still. And he gazed, absent-mindedly, at how they crossed over one another to create triangular shapes along the ceiling. From somewhere beyond the treehouse walls, an ambling tune played. Soft and distant. 

Sonic let out a long, soft breath. His chest gently fell.

He could smell simmering vegetable soup.

Filtering in from the windows were small, glowing spots of sunlight. He watched them sway along the walls in time with the breeze outside.

It felt so peaceful.

After laying for some minutes, finally, Sonic sat up.

No one was around.

He got up to take a look at what was left in the cooking pot. Steam rose as he lifted the lid. Inside, the soup level was low. Everyone else must've already eaten. But there was still plenty enough for him. Next to the pot of soup was a piece of paper. Scribbled in Amy’s cute handwriting were the words, “Sonic eat this!” with an accompanying smiley face.

 

“Yo Taaails~” Sonic called in from the open window. “Whatcha playin with there?”

Tails smiled from his workbench, “Sonic! You’re awake!”

Sonic hopped in through the window with the sun shining behind him. As he approached, he haughtily put his hands on his hips. “And just where is everyone else to tell me good morning?”

Tails giggled. “Amy and um, Mighty went to help with a zone.” 

Sonic's face slightly fell. “More trouble?”

Tails nodded. He stuck out his arm to show the device on his wrist. “But I have them on communicator in case they need help.”

“Communicator?” Sonic said in surprise. “Since when? You tellin me you made that just recently?”

Tails nodded energetically.

“Greeeeat~” Sonic chimed. “You gotta show me how it works.”

“Okay. But first, watch this, Sonic!” 

Sonic stopped and watched.

Tails reached into a jar containing small flowers. The type found in Emerald Hill Zone. Carefully he pulled one out. “Watch what happens when I put one of these normal flowers next to a glitched flower.”

“N-next to a WHA-” but Sonic's reaction stopped short. Next to the jar, he noticed a shallow dish. Sitting in it was a single flower--unnaturally black, with colors flashing along the edges of its petals.

Tails placed the normal flower inside the dish next to the glitched one. 

Sonic leaned in over the workbench in genuine interest. At first, nothing happened. But as the seconds passed, he realized the glitched flower was beginning to change. Pixels blipped over its surface. In a mini cascade, they cleared away, revealing beneath a normal-looking magenta flower.

Tails looked eagerly up for a reaction.

“That…” Sonic stammered, still staring at the flower that had transformed before his eyes. “That’s… really cool.”

Tails brightened.

“Tails, that’s amazing.”

“Really?” Tails balled his little fists.

Sonic smiled over at him in disbelief. “Yeah…”

Bobbing up and down, Tails gave a hushed laugh. Then he grabbed the Code Teller.

"How'd ya do something like that?"

“I didn't do it," Tails answered with a smile. "It's the flowers. The normal ones can fix the glitched ones! I recorded their codes, before and after they changed. I wrote a lot! And then I, I compared them. You know what I found out?”

“Sure don’t!”

“The codes of the glitched flowers got changed! I mean, after they went back to normal. They changed to be the same as the codes of the not glitched ones!”

Having no idea what all this code talk was, still Sonic nodded.

“Sonic, remember how I said I think zones overlap?”

Mid-nod, Sonic interrupted himself, "Ehh... No actually. Not really."

"Oh. That's okay." Tails pulled his notepad over. The page was already filled with notes. He started drawing a rectangle at the bottom. "Pretend this is the amount of space a zone takes up. And this one," he drew another rectangle that partially overlapped the first, "is a different zone and the space it takes up. That's how I think zones are. Because it's too weird any other way, when you think of how that grid makes them look like they overlap when it appears."

Sonic chuckled. "I dunno. I think it's pretty weird either way."

With a proud and knowing smile, Tails looked up at him. "Well, this is why I wanted to do some tests. It's telling me, that I think I'm right…" He picked up the dish with the two normal flowers. "Because what I think is, codes do more than just make something be normal or glitched. I think… that the zone you’re able to see and touch, depends on your code…”

Sonic's eyes squinted slightly at the concepts Tails was describing.

“I think people’s codes can change just like a flower’s can.” Tails motioned at Sonic, “Just think of it. If your code all the sudden changed, to more match the code of a different overlapping zone… you wouldn’t see the first zone anymore. You’d see the overlapping one! It’d feel like you got transported suddenly.”

Sonic’s mouth tilted as he tried to understand. “...I don’t really get all you’re sayin. But Mighty was telling me about some grid that takes you somewhere else.”

Tails nodded. “I think the grid changes your code.”

It was quiet now, as Sonic contemplated this theory. But it didn’t last long. With all the talk of zones, Sonic remembered he had something to do. He needed to get the last Chaos Emerald. 

Tails continued, “I want to create a device that stops your code from being changed. I already have a prototype started, but it's hard to get right..." He touched the said device, which lay upon the workbench. It was cylindrical and yellow. "I'm thinking, if I can make it stop one of these glitched flowers from being turned normal when it touches a normal one… Then, I know, I can stop people from being taken to different zones too.”

“Hey Tails.”

Tails looked at him.

“Think you can fix the Emerald Reader for me real fast?”

The little fox’s tails lowered.

“I tried to use it, but the screen’s busted. I couldn’t figure out how to work it with just sound.”

Tails’ mouth fidgeted. “I don’t know, Sonic… It was already acting funny before I dropped it…”

“Listen,” Sonic said while resting a hand on Tails’ shoulder. “That's not your fault. The Chaos Emerald is the one acting funky round here! Your reader's just reading that." He slid his hand off and shrugged apologetically. "I haven’t had a chance to tell ya all that’s been goin. But I need to fix up the zones. I gotta get all the emeralds to do that. This is the last one I need. But I can’t find it on my own.”

Tails looked away with guilt. “Sonic, it’s that-...”

Sonic looked down at him in question.

“...I don’t want to fix the reader.”

Sonic only blinked in surprise.

“Everybody on my island… they’re scared. They’re getting hurt. I don’t want them to,” Tails said in a quivering voice. “I want to make something, to help them. I want to do it right away…” He focused on the equipment in front of him to avoid seeing what Sonic's expression might be. “And, and anyway, Amy knows how to use the reader. She was able to find Mighty’s Chaos Emerald with it, even though it was broken. So if you wait just a little... until she comes back…”

Sonic waited for Tails to finish. And now that he was, Sonic smiled warmly. With two gentle claps on Tails’ shoulder, he said, “I think that’s great, Little Buddy. You’re the smartest person I know. You’ll come up with something incredible.”

Tails smiled back in great relief.

Sonic gave a thumbs up. “I’ll wait a little bit for Amy. Know when they’ll be back?”

“I’ll check.” Tails pressed the button on the communicator, “Amy, do you read?”

Slight static sounded before she answered, “Hi Tails!”

“Hi! Sonic’s awake now. He’s asking when you guys are coming back.” 

“We’re already coming now!” she answered. “Sonic, did you like the soup?” 

“Yup! Really hit the spot!”

 

While waiting for the other two to return, Sonic filled Tails in on everything--why he and Mighty had left so quickly with the light blue Chaos Emerald, how Knuckles had given him the task of collecting the Chaos Emeralds to resync them with the Super Emeralds, and how the purple Super Emerald was generating the errors responsible for zonal disturbances across the islands.

Tails didn’t answer much. He seemed consumed in his work. Still, Sonic could see the gears turning in his head. Since Tails seemed especially attune to physics involving the current predicament, Sonic wanted to tell him as much as possible in this small window available to him. 

Despite that, still Sonic found himself hesitant to mention the surges of power that sporadically came over him. He considered bringing it up, when Tails finally spoke.

“Did you notice,” Tails said without lifting his attention from the device he was creating, “that the Super Emerald that’s glitching and the Chaos Emerald you need to get, are the same color?”

Sonic paused. “...Well yeah. That’s why I’m tryin to get it. I gotta match em up.”

“It’s, what I mean is…” Tails paused to wipe his brow. “It sounds like Knuckles is saying each Super Emerald is connected to its same Chaos Emerald. If the purple Super Emerald is being all messed up… then probably the purple Chaos Emerald is all messed up too. Like, not acting how it normally would.”

Sonic nodded. "Yeah. I haven't been able to get it the same way I got the others. That's why I think it's been taken outta its dimension thing. And that's why I needa use your Emerald Reader."

Both of their ears perked at a rustling in the bushes some distance away. The voices of Amy and Mighty became distinguishable from behind the thick foliage. Sonic kicked his legs out and hopped to his feet to announce himself to them from the treehouse window.

“Alriiiight~! My turn to take Amy on a-” Sonic stopped at the sight of many more people than he was anticipating.

As Amy and Mighty emerged from the bushes, they both held armfuls of small animals. Many other small animals followed at their feet.

Tails straightened with surprise as he looked out the window as well. “Ah! Everyone!”

“We having a party?” Sonic smirked.

Mighty set the little animals to the ground. “I’m afraid this... is more for safety.”

There was a short pause.

Tails, with very concerned eyes, spoke up, “Is it bad?”

“Emerald Hill is all twisted up,” Amy told Tails and Sonic seriously. “The ground is like a screw, all twisting and twisting over itself.”

The animals chattered in agreement.

Mighty chimed in, “Thankfully, Aquatic Ruin has remained stable. So we can all stay here for the time being. Alright, everyone?”

“Amy.”

Amy looked. Sonic was now standing in front of her with Emerald Reader in hand. Immediately, she understood. 

“I’m ready,” she told him.

Sonic picked her up, and they were off.

 

Far from the forests of Aquatic Ruin Zone, Sonic sped along with renewed vigor. He felt light, even with Amy in his arms.

Amy glanced at the dimming surroundings and wondered what kind of zone they were entering. But when she turned her attention back to the Emerald Reader, she scrunched her face. “Sonic.”

Sonic vaulted over a wide, triangular bumper. “You got somethin?”

When they landed, dazzling colors and lights began to streak by. Reds, blues, yellows, greens. They gleamed against a sky that had darkened over to complete night.

Amy shook her head. “No. The signal hasn’t changed since we left.”

“Mm," Sonic acknowledged. He sped up and somersaulted over a pit. He landed onto a pinball flipper, which lobbed them high into the air.

Amy couldn’t help but gasp. A twinkling sea of lights stretched out beneath her.

“That's what happened to me when I was tryina use it," Sonic said as they began to fall. "But we haven’t even covered two zones. Wherever the emerald is, maybe we'll hafta do some running around before the signal gets stronger.”

“WEEeeEEE! Sonic, this is fuuuun!!” Amy cheered.

He smiled.

Sonic’s goal was to get through this zone, Casino Night Zone, and the next zone as fast as possible. If running all of West Side Island’s zones didn’t produce a stronger signal from the Emerald Reader, he'd move on to the other islands using zone hops.

Then it happened. Sonic had only a moment to realize it. Purple voltaic energy ruptured inside him.

His footing disappeared.

Amy yelped as Sonic slipped off a platform. Spikes awaited them below. Quickly she took her hammer and thrusted forward. It caught onto a tall ledge. They smacked into the wall beneath it. Amy hung from the hammer with one arm, and with the other, she held desperately to Sonic to keep him from falling.

“Ooouch…” Sonic groaned.

"Uggggn! Sonic hurry!" Amy strained.

“Ah! Whoops.”

Sonic pulled himself on top of the ledge.

Amy sighed with relief. “Sonic, are you okay?”

“Fine thanks to you!” Sonic winked. And he was. The energy was gone. But he feared it was on the verge of returning at any moment. 

Amy smiled as Sonic pulled her up by her hammer. When he set her down, they both realized a rapid beeping sounding from inside Amy's shirt. 

“Oh oh oh!” She eagerly pulled the Emerald Reader out.

“It’s close?” Sonic asked just as eagerly.

“Yeah! Sonic, it must be right here!”

Amy spun around. And around, and around again. With no emerald in sight, she bent down to look over the ledge. Sonic didn't see anything in the immediate area either. He moved in the opposite direction to search.

Amy straightened. “H-hey, the beeping-?”

Sonic stopped and looked over.

“Sonic. It got slower?” Amy turned and hurried back over to him. The signal picked up again to its frenzied pace. Slowly, she looked from Sonic, to the Emerald Reader, then back to Sonic once more. “...Again? Sonic, did you have one all along too??” 

“Where would I be keeping it??” Sonic answered. “Are you sure it’s working?” 

“Of course!”

Sonic felt a panicked confusion. He stepped away from Amy again. The beeping slowed. The signal was clearly pointing to him.

“What does that mean…” he murmured.

Amy jogged a circle around Sonic, looking him up and down. “I don’t see it…”

"Why now, all of the sudden?" Sonic asked himself. The Emerald Reader hadn't responded to him until this moment. He thought back. And it wasn't too far. Just moments ago, the purple surge of energy had assaulted him. "...Did that trigger it?"

Amy looked at him.

Slowly, Sonic placed his own hand over his chest. 

"Sonic?"

"Knuckles... is that why you-..." he trailed off. Then Sonic stopped, and imagined each emerald he had obtained in the past. Even those in times back on his home of South Island. “Well... ya know… All the times before, when I got an emerald... it got absorbed inside me...” 

“Huh? Inside?" Amy scrunched her face. "Sonic, what are you talking about?"

“Yeah,” Sonic said with rising enthusiasm. “I didn’t think about it before, but like. You guys, when you guys hold emeralds n stuff, they don’t do anything.”

“I feel a scary thing when I touch them! Mighty’s made me scream cuz it felt weird.”

Sonic waved both hands, “Well, okay. Maybe you feel stuff, but it stays--like physical. It keeps its shape, right? Well with me, sometimes the emeralds go inside me. Knuckles said I have some power, and that’s why-...”

Amy watched Sonic’s eyes widen in realization.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmmm, looks like Tails has made a breakthrough with his research, and Sonic's had a breakthrough of his own!
> 
> [Chapter 16 Notes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1h3W1Jy04c77XpNfhHE5vEZCJaWQCvDLThqGWIcXmpPs/edit?usp=sharing)  
> (Just press back to return to this page)


	17. Chapter 17

A tiny keypad sat mounted on a metal panel. With a press of a button, the panel retracted into the body of a device and disappeared. Tails smiled and lifted his creation with a swell of pride.

The device was yellow, metallic, and wand-shaped. Since it was built from salvaged parts, mismatched components gave it an irregular texture and diameter. Still, it could be gripped comfortably in one hand. Resting near Tails' thumb were two buttons. The first opened and retracted the tiny keypad. The second controlled the component fixed to the top of the device--a hollow orb made from pink, translucent glass.

The admiration in Tails' face gradually shrunk away. In its place, came hesitance.

Deeply he looked into the glass orb.

Tails lifted his thumb. He pressed the second button.

Blue electricity sparked behind the glass. Two tiny blue lights ignited. They began to spin. A magical, magnetic sound warbled softly outwards.

A large square blipped in front of Tails. Two-dimensional, blue, and semi-translucent. It floated in the air above the workbench, motionlessly, like a hologram.

Tails waited.

When the square made no change, Tails bounced up and down happily.

He pressed the button again. The square disappeared.

Tails happily scampered out of the Control Room and across the balcony outside. Down below, the small animals were grouped in the grass on Mighty's blanket. They sat captivated by his tale of a far away beach, white as snow, where enormous glass pinnacles rose like upside-down icicles along the shoreline. Mighty himself was seated atop a mossy log so all could hear. 

Tails floated safely down to the ground and opened his mouth. But he couldn’t get his voice to come out. So he hurried over to everyone else. As he approached, a small gust of wind swept between Mighty and his audience.

“MIGHTY!" came Sonic's voice.

Mighty nearly toppled over, but Sonic righted him with a tug on his arm. 

“S-Sonic?” Mighty realized. “Oh, and Amy.”

“Oh hey, your arm’s okay!” Sonic remarked when he noticed the missing sling. “Punch me.” 

Mighty blinked. “P… pardon?” 

“Punch him!” came a cute cheer from Amy.

“What??” the animals reacted in chorus. 

Tails hurried to Sonic’s side as he started explaining himself.

“See you guys, what if- what if-” Sonic's stuttering excitement was spilling faster than his mouth could handle. When he noticed Tails, he gestured to him dramatically. “Tails! Your reader points to ME. For the emerald!”

Tails looked confused.

“What if it’s right!” Sonic looked back and forth between Tails and Mighty. “What if the purple emerald’s somehow in ME all this time??” 

Mighty squinted. “I… what?” 

Tails chimed in, solemnly, “But Sonic. You let all of the Chaos Emeralds go… After we saved- you know, his island, from Eggman. They all flew out into the air, remember?” He shook his head and looked down. “Sorry… I think the reader’s wrong...”

“Well yeah, that did happen,” Sonic acknowledged. “But! The purple one must’ve got REALLY messed up between then and now. I mean, you said it yourself, right? That it's not acting like it should. And- really, only Mighty knows about this, but- Well, I told Amy on the way too. Weird stuff's been goin on with me. I been getting this purple energy inside me ever since this zone stuff started."

Tails looked at him in awe.

Sonic continued, "And maybe- maybe the reason any of this is even happening, is cuz the emerald’s partway stuck in me!”

“Dear me… can that… can that really happen?” Mighty asked. All he received in response were the eager eyes of Sonic and Amy. “A-ah. Right. The punch thing. And you want me to punch you because…?”

“To get it out of him!” Amy asserted.

Sonic nodded. “Knuckles clocked me good one time. Smacked the emeralds right outta me! You’re super buff too right?” 

Mighty gave a petrified smile. “I’d--rather not.” 

Amy spread out her arms. “But Mighty-” 

Mighty interrupted, with exasperation, “SECONDLY, that’s- that’s surely not how this sort of thing works. He has some sort of command over the Chaos Emeralds. I certainly don-” 

“No… no, that doesn’t make sense,” Sonic muttered to himself. “Knuckles said he can sense emeralds. ...Wouldn’t he have known if one was in me?”

Mighty sighed with relief.

“But hey… he DID think I had some when he first showed up. Remember that? He asked me where they were, like I was messing around with em. He was ready to fight me.”

Mighty raised his hands as if to shield himself from Sonic’s request. 

Sonic countered himself again, “No… then why didn’t he just slug me if he suspected that?”

“Well... he DID punch you,” Mighty reminded.

Sonic sighed with a slight smile. “Right.”

“And no emerald came out?” Tails asked.

Sonic shook his head. But slowly, the confidence again rose from behind his eyes. “But maybe it wasn’t his magical emerald-knock-out punch!”

“Heavens,” Mighty almost pleaded, “I c-can’t DO an emerald-knock-out punch!”

“Dang it… You’re right.”

Mighty sighed the hugest sigh yet.

A pause settled over everyone.

“...What will you do now, Sonic?” Tails asked.

“Dunno," Sonic answered. "I gotta find some way to get it outta me… Or- wherever it is.”

Mighty's eyes wandered along the log he sat upon. “...I think..."

Everyone looked at him.

Noticing this, Mighty paused. Then he looked to Sonic, since it was meant for him. "I think there’s a reason he shut us out. I think it's because... He knows the last Chaos Emerald is beyond our grasp.”

Sonic side-eyed him and emphasized the first word, "I think he's underestimating us. And if he thinks I'm giving up on the last emerald just cuz he got grouchy, he's in for a surprise."

Mighty opened his palms genuinely. “Sonic. ...Some things are simply out of our control. And sometimes, we need to step back and try to move on.”

“Move on? What?” Sonic immediately countered. “How? Look at us. The zones are messin up bad on West Side Island! Prolly everywhere else too. And the only reason they're not worse, is Knuckles up there fixing the Super Emerald everytime it messes up."

"Sonic-"

"And we left him back there to do it all himself. I gotta get the last emerald back! You even said it. He can’t do it forever. We're on borrowed time here.”

“Sonic, this will not last forever.”

“Mighty.”

“Listen,” the armadillo said in a more light-hearted tone, “what I mean is- you’ve been asleep. There’s another path to pursue besides the emerald. You see, Tails, he's been working on-”

But before Mighty could finish, a flurry of little stars whisked into the air.

Sonic was gone.

One of the stars settled next to Amy’s shoe. She lifted her head. Then she went running after him.

“Ah- Amy!” Tails reacted.

Mighty sighed softly. “Where are those two off to now?”

 

In a smooth swoop, a swinging platform rose to its highest point. Sonic skidded onto it. He used the upward momentum in the next swoop to launch himself further into Aquatic Ruin Zone.

As he ran, he scanned the forest. He wasn't sure what he was looking for. Not until he saw it. An ancient building looming high amongst the trees. It was so tall that it disappeared behind the thick leaves above. Sonic swerved for it. 

He ran up the side of the building and entered through a stone passageway inside.

It grew dark.

He slowed to a walk. 

The natural light returned as the passage opened to a medium-sized room. Or at least, what used to be a room. One of the walls and part of the ceiling was completely missing, having collapsed long ago. The open space provided an overlook of the entire forest.

Sonic’s eyes focused into the distance. He was facing the direction of Chemical Plant Zone. But against the deep blue sky, its familiar smokestacks were nowhere to be seen. Only a wide, undulating shaft of colors. A mess of pixels. The only indication that a zone once stood there.

Sonic took a seat upon the ancient stone floor. He took in a deep breath.

“Alright.”

He closed his eyes. Quieted his thoughts. 

Patiently he waited, for some sort of sign. For some indication of the Chaos Emerald inside him. If it was there, then he had to find it. And establish a connection to guide it back to where it belonged. Just as he did with the other Chaos Emeralds.

But he couldn’t reach anything. 

He couldn’t feel anything. 

Opening his eyes again, Sonic sighed. 

“...I’m no good at being patient. And I got no idea how to get this emerald…”

The sky, he noticed, was darkening with rain clouds. He didn't bother wondering how such weather was possible in this zone. Instead, taking a look at his hands, he contemplated himself, and the Chaos Emerald.

“...Those surges of power… Maybe I can get hold of the emerald when they come back again?"

So he waited. And waited. 

The dark clouds were churning aggressively now. Sonic watched with half-lidded eyes. He wondered, with increasing boredom, whether rain would actually break.

He laid on his back.

Minutes passed.

Still no energy appeared inside him. He sat up. 

His eyes wandered the treetops. And he realized something. Contrasting against the dark leaves were light specks. Rainfall. Sonic watched it fall in from the broken ceiling. But he couldn’t hear, smell, or feel any sign of rain.

Sonic held out his hand. He watched raindrops pass right through his palm. When he focused his eyes to the floor, he saw them passing right through the stone too. 

Then he felt it. A ominous shift inside of him.

Sonic exhaled and inhaled to prepare for the Chaos Emerald’s power. It rushed in upon him. 

Through an electrifying whirlwind, he reached. He reached out for the Chaos Emerald. But at that moment, a strange sound cut in. A swooping beam of red light. Yellow numbers and readings. A snowy landscape.

Sharp pain shocked him back to reality. He was on his hands and knees, staring down at the earthy bricks.

Slowly, Sonic sat back onto his legs.

The unusual rain still fell.

“There’s more to this…” Sonic murmured to himself. He closed his eyes and rubbed his head. “I don’t get it but… It feels like somethin's fighting against me. Those weird numbers… that sound… I've heard it before. It’s something of Eggman’s, I know it.”

“There you are, Sonic!” a voice rang below.

It took Sonic a moment to react. His head was still buzzing. He scooted over to the broken wall and peered down. Between the tree branches, Amy’s cheery pink fur popped through. She was climbing up the side of the ruins. 

“...Amy? What're you doing here?”

“I want to help!” she called up. “Knuckles shouldn’t do everything by himself.”

Sonic smiled and shook his head. He said gently, “What can you do?”

“I don’t know…” came Amy's quiet answer. “What can you do?”

Sonic chuckled. “...I don’t know either.”

It was quiet as Amy climbed the rest of the way. When she reached the top, she stepped into the room, and looked gently at Sonic.

“...Are you okay, Sonic? You’re kind of quiet.”

He gave a half-smile, and nodded. “Yeah. I been tryina figure something out.”

Amy waited.

“...I can’t really help out with Tails’ machine thing. I don’t know the first thing about that stuff. And talkin to Mighty was taking too much time. So… that’s why I left.” He ended with a soft shrug.

“Yeah! That’s why I followed you,” Amy exclaimed. “Let’s team up! I’ll help you! And I won’t get in the way.”

Sonic laughed. “...Actually. ...Why don’t ya keep me company? While I’m waiting for the next surge to come.”

“Next… surge?”

Sonic nodded. “That's just what I'm callin what the purple emerald does inside me. I’m tryina get it out, but it’s like… connected to something else maybe... But I wanna give it another shot.”

Amy sat next to him cheerfully. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

He chuckled. “Here, I’ll explain it all to ya.”

Sonic was grateful for Amy’s presence. He wouldn’t be bored with her around. And she lightened the mood dramatically. As he explained the connections shared between the Chaos Emeralds, the Super Emeralds, the Master Emerald, and now seemingly with him, he looked out towards the rainy scenery.

"But it's like I said..." Sonic sighed. "If it really was in me, Knuckles woulda already done something about it, right? So... Is there really, nothing I can do?" He lifted his head, and when his eyes met Amy's, he saw hers, shining back. Sonic paused, and his eyes swept back to the surroundings. "...Wish I knew."

Amy's demeanor slowly lifted. Like when a treasured memory resurfaces to the mind. "Sonic. When I don't know what to do, I ask my tarot cards."

Sonic watched as she pulled a deck of cards from her shirt.

"Sometimes, they give a message to me."

"Wha- Do you carry those around everywhere?"

"Of course!" Amy chirped. She looked down at them and held them lovingly in her hands. "...A traveler gave them to me one day. When I was even littler. They said, they waited a lot of years to find who they really belonged to. They said it was me! Magical powers told them they'd find me one day."

Sonic looked at her with curiosity. "What? ...I never knew that."

Amy only smiled. Then she positioned herself in front of him. “Do you want me to ask for you? My cards are what told me I'd have a destiny with you on Little Planet!"

"I know, I know. Ya never let me forget," Sonic chuckled with a slight eye roll. But he paused. Then, with a slight shrug of one of his arms, said, "...Well. if it worked for you, who's to say it can't work for me? Let's give it a shot."

Amy gave a big, enthusiastic nod. She took the cards from their box.

Sonic watched.

Amy held the deck between two palms and looked up at him. "The purple Chaos Emerald? Is that what you want to know? You want to know where it is, so you can get it?"

"Yup," Sonic nodded.

Amy poked her lip and contemplated for a few minutes. Soon, her face brightened. "I know!" She used her thumbs to spread the deck between her hands. "I'll dooo... I'll dooo... the one for finding lost things. I just have to find the card to be your- there!"

She laid a card face-up on the floor. Upon it was a colorful illustration. Bold, mystical shapes depicted a large gemstone. It rested upon an elaborate pedestal and radiated lines of what appeared to be light or power.

Amy straightened the rest of the cards and handed the deck to Sonic. "Now you have to shuffle the cards to put your energy into them."

"Okay~!" Sonic replied in his signature charming way.

As he took the deck, Amy instructed him--focus on the question at hand, and pour that question, and his feelings, into the cards as he shuffled. Sonic followed her instructions as best he could, and then returned the deck.

Amy gestured to the card she had already placed on the ground. "This card is called The Gemstone. It'll be the sigin- significator for your reading. It represents the thing you're asking about, okay? Sometimes it can really help."

"Ohhh," Sonic responded, as if this actually explained anything to him.

"Now, I'll draw your cards," Amy told him.

She drew the first one. This she laid face-down, to the left of The Gemstone card. It was placed at a slightly lower position as well. A second card was drawn. She laid it in the same position as the first, but on the right side. The third and fourth cards she placed even further and lower than the other two. Together the cards created lines that pointed towards The Gemstone card.

Lastly, a fifth card was drawn. Amy laid this one in a sideways position over The Gemstone card.

"Okay," Amy said as she set the deck down. "Are you ready?"

Sonic nodded.

"Okay!" Amy began turning over the first card. "This card in this spot tells the colors of the thing you want to find. Well, the colors of where it's at."

On the card was an illustration of a figure balancing two circles within an infinity symbol. "Ohh, it's the Two of Pentacles. And see? The color most on it is blue. So it's telling that the purple emerald is by something blue or in something blue."

Sonic chuckled. "I'm blue."

"But there's lots more blue things in the world than just you, Sonic!" Amy scolded with a giggle. "The other cards will help tell what it could be. Like, this next one is supposed to tell you- Um well, the picture or symbols on it will describe where you can find the purple Chaos Emerald."

Amy turned the second card over. It was an illustration of a tall tower. The top was ablaze with fire that appeared to be caused by the lightning bolts that forked through the sky.

"Ohhh," Amy observed. "This is usually a scary card... But not this time! Because it's here to tell you a place the emerald is instead of it's normal meaning."

Sonic tilted his head. "So it's--in a tower? I got a feeling it's not that literal."

Amy nodded happily. "Yeah Sonic! This might mean it's in a building. Or at a hot place, see? Because of the fire. Or some place with electricity and technology because of the lightning. Or maybe it even means, a place that's dangerous and scary! Or maybe just a tall place."

Before Sonic could react, Amy went right to revealing the third card. She seemed captivated in her task.

This time the card featured two figures standing in front of one another. Each held a cup in their hands. "Oh! It's the Two of Cups! Oh- oh wait," she laughed at herself. "I forgot to tell what this card will say. It says something you should remember when looking for the emerald, okay?"

Sonic nodded. "Okay. And what's this one mean?"

Amy clasped her hands together. "It means! The Two of Cups is usually meaning a good relationship! Like love and harmony and good respect! Um, and unity! And connection. Isn't it so nice? I love this card when it comes to me."

Sonic laughed, "Well I'll try to-"

But Amy interrupted, "Wow! Oh! The Two of Cups and the Two of Pentacles. That's really amazing! Something must want you to really pay attention to something in twos... Or balance... Or duo- do... duality!" She clapped with glee. "Even though the pentacles was just meant to tell you a color, it's made a pattern now! This is really amazing! Let's see the next card! We have to see more!"

Amy turned over the fourth card, which revealed an illustration of a winged emblem. 

Finally Sonic didn't seem lost. "Hey, I've seen things like that on South Island."

Amy leaned in and whispered, "This one tells something that will help your search." She sat up straight again and tilted her head in thought. "And for you... Well... for you... For you, I wonder if this means the Tornado! Wings to fly you were the emerald is."

Sonic smiled bitterly. "Tornado's busted."

"Oh..." Amy said sadly. "Well... I'm not really very sure what it could mean right now. This card usually symbolizes pathways that lead to magical and mysterious things in our world! So let's see the last card. It's the one that will tell you what will get in your way."

Sonic watched as Amy turned the fifth card over. Beneath her fingertips, it began to glow in strange colors. Amy let out a small shriek and jumped away. Pixels shimmered across the card's surface and made it unrecognizable.

In that moment, Sonic and Amy noticed more colors materializing across the floor. They started as tiny circles that expanded and crawled. 

"Look!" Amy exclaimed. She pointed at a thread of light that was floating in the air.

The light drifted slowly down. When it landed upon the floor, it melted into a tiny, glowing circle. Then, the stone beneath it began to pixelate and expand.

"...The rain," Sonic said seriously.

Sonic and Amy raised their heads. There, they found the source of the phenomenon. Falling alongside the raindrops were threads of glowing light. They twinkled in small number a few feet overhead. But higher in the sky, against the darkened clouds, they teemed in a massive, colorful horde.

Objects touched by these lights began to glitch. Trees were, one by one, pulled into disfigured, flickering geometric shapes, until they became indistinguishable from one another. The forest began to light up in a glitching mass. And the mass was approaching them like a rising flood.

Amy dropped down and quickly gathered her tarot cards.

Sonic looked sharply around for the best path of escape. Once decided, he scooped Amy from the ground and took off.

"Sonic, wai-!" But she stopped herself. Even as she watched a handful of cards flutter to the wind, she knew they had to be left behind.

The ancient building receded into the distance as they fled. Amy watched it get swallowed up beneath the devouring light.

 

A shudder rushed through the trees. Tails lifted his head. As he did, Aquatic Ruin’s music froze on a single note. Then the note began cycling through freakish pitches. He got up fearfully and looked to the others.

The animals looked around panicked. At their feet, Mighty saw squares carving into the grass in glowing colors. He looked up and to witness a glitching cascade flooding the forest. His heart began to race. He stood up to say something, but Sonic’s voice came calling towards them.

“GUUUUYS!” Sonic shouted. “Don't touch any of it! GO!!”

Everyone made a run for it. But Tails took hold of his device, and ran towards the glitching forest.

“TAILS!”

“Tails??” Sonic blurted as he ran past him. He skidded.

"TAILS NO!!" Amy yelled.

He didn't listen. He ran until he reached the pixelating trees. Then Tails stopped. He pressed the button of his wand-like device and raised it up. 

A blue square appeared in the air above him. Pixels crashed upon it. Dizzying colors flashed across the square. Deep magnetic reverberations echoed out. 

Everyone stopped and looked.

The pixels directly behind the barrier proceeded no further. But over the top, the bottom, and the sides, they flooded forth. A few animals shouted in fear.

“Let’s go, Tails!” Sonic shouted as he grabbed his arm.

“Wait.” Tails pressed the button to open the side panel. A keypad flicked out. As he inputted a combination of buttons, the blue square changed. It curved. In almost a blink, it skewed into a dome-shaped barrier which closed everybody off from the surroundings.

Sonic looked up in shock. 

Everyone was silent. The glitching phenomenon passed up and over them harmlessly. It left behind colors that flashed wildly against the barrier from outside.

They were safe.

Tails panted. Slowly, he turned around, and saw the speechless faces of everyone else looking at him.

“Um,” he squeaked. “...Here’s my invention. I wanted to show it before, but, um… I call it my Code Stabilizer.”

He felt the arms of Sonic envelop him in a huge hug. Shouts and laughing surrounded him as the others crowded over.

“You had me scared!” Sonic nearly shouted. 

Amy pounced him with a hug, and he would’ve fallen over if not for Sonic. “Taaaaaaaaaaaaails!” she wailed happily.

More voices shouted around him.

"Tails!"

“Tails…”

“You saved us, Tails.”

After the celebrating died down, and everyone's adrenaline began to wane, the magnetic sounds of the Code Stabilizer's barrier became more pronounced in their ears. 

Tails looked over the barrier in one wide arc. "...But what about... Aquatic Ruin...?" 

Mighty stepped forward. “...It's an alpha zone now. One more deteriorated, than I have ever seen."

Tails' face sank to sadness.

Mighty looked at the walls of the barrier. "I’m amazed by you, Little Tails.”

“What do we do now, though?” Amy asked.

Sonic nodded, “Yeah, wonder if we can even move from this spot.”

A flash of fear came over Tails.

Many eyes peered over at him for an answer.

Tails looked down at the Code Stabilizer. The blue lights inside the pink, glass orb remained spinning. Cautiously he started inputting some keys.

Without warning, the barrier expanded about an inch in diameter. A few people shouted at the sudden movement.

"Sorry!" said Tails. His eyes scanned the edges of the barrier. "...But... there's no glitchy stuff in here, even though I expanded the barrier. I think we can walk through this zone with the Code Stabilizer, and be safe."

Sonic perked up. "Really? Hey, how big can ya expand it? Can you fix the whole zone with it?"

Though Tails didn't look confident, he again used the keypad. This time the barrier expanded to three times its size so that it was almost thirty yards wide.

“Goodness!” Mighty remarked. He had been peering through the edge of the barrier, which was now far away from him.

“Sorry. That’s as big as it can go right now,” Tails told them. “It’s just not enough power to fix a whole zone…”

A little bird shouted, “We don’t care that it can’t! I'm SO glad to be safe.”

An influx of agreeing shouts came in.

Tails laughed bashfully. "Thanks."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yaaaaaaaaaay, we're halfway through the story!! Thanks for staying with it to this point!
> 
> I really hope you enjoyed Amy and Tails in this chapter. I love them so much and I want them to be so cool!
> 
> Also, this chapter actually has chapter notes! See below.
> 
> [Chapter 17 Notes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SmukZ4Sc1BUeyTF6UbJToOfLHpHkRDJLxPd0x9d9l7g/edit?usp=sharing)  
> (Just press back to return to this page)


	18. Chapter 18

Tails held the Code Stabilizer like a torch. And it was much like a torch, revealing only a limited area of the forest as they traveled. Nothing outside the dome-shaped barrier could be seen. No landmarks. No sky. No sun. Nothing from his home of Aquatic Ruin Zone. Only a kaleidoscope of pixels that snaked across the barrier's outer surface.

Fortunately, Tails had been able to use his treehouse as an orientation point before setting out. Northwest from his home led towards Emerald Hill Zone. Southeast led to Chemical Plant. And southwest led to Casino Night. After he had explained this to the others, everyone agreed that Casino Night Zone was their best bet. It was presumably safe, unlike Emerald Hill, which teetered between beta and alpha states, and Chemical Plant, which had disappeared completely. 

The group pressed on. Everyone was on edge. The Code Stabilizer was all that prevented the glitched Aquatic Ruin Zone from flooding down upon them.

They walked.

Grass, tree trunks, and slabs of ruins passed continuously by. 

After a few minutes of this, hesitantly a little animal spoke up. “...Is... Do you think there's still a way out of here?”

The question hit the West Side Islanders like a stone.

Sonic looked around at their quiet faces. "Of course there is!"

"Yeah!" chirped Amy, who was balancing across a ruins wall. She hopped down in front of them. “Don’t worry, everyone! I got stuck in some glitched stuff before, and I’m okay. We just have to keep going and get to the way out.”

“But that time-” Tails hesitated. “...That’s, not the same as this.”

“But it was an alpha zone,” Amy said questioningly.

The little fox looked like he wanted to say more, but didn’t.

Pecky noticed Tails expression. She lowered her head.

Similar responses came from the other animals.

Mighty looked between them. “...Is something wrong?”

Solemnly, Pecky spoke. “None of us were around to see it, but… when Woods Zone got haunted... There's stories of animals getting trapped there. The zone, it looked like… like it went on ahead of you. But no matter how much you walked, you couldn’t go any further. There was no way out...”

All of the other animals reacted in pensive agreement.

Tails looked at Amy, and softly added, “Last time, you got trapped in a corrupted space. Your code got messed up... but mine didn’t. When I touched you, yours got fixed.” He glanced slowly at the blue barrier around them. “This time, all of us are in here…”

Amy countered, “But... your Code Stabilizer is making us not in a corrupted place. Right?”

“But if the outside-”

Sonic stepped in cooly, “Hooold it, hold it. Don’tcha guys know we haven’t walked far enough to get to Casino Night yet? What’s the worry?”

Amy nodded. “See!”

Sonic shrugged, smiling, “We can’t see past this shield thing. It’s messing with our sense of direction, makin us all nervous. But Amy’s right. We’ll get outta here fine.”

“Yes,” Mighty agreed. “Let’s keep going. Alpha zones are rightly dreaded. But it is not the end if you fall into one. There are always other paths.”

 

The group continued on. But their pace grew gradually slower. Exhaustion was kicking in for the little animals. They weren't accustomed to traveling such distances. And the flashing colors outside the barrier put strain on everyone’s eyes. Most kept theirs cast to the ground, and walked in a quiet daze.

But a muted sound caught everyone's attention. They all perked their ears to listen.

From the other side of the barrier came steady sounds. A musical beat.

Everyone strained to make out the song. Between soft, magnetic hums of the Code Stabilizer, hints of the jazzy Casino Night Zone melody were just discernible.

Excitement soared over everyone. They clamored forward.

Like a ship piercing through a waterfall, their protective barrier broke through the wall of pixels in front of them. Glitching colors melted away. A dark night sky revealed. And against it, as the pixels disappeared, stood a cityscape twinkling for miles into the distance. 

The sudden expanse of darkness, so open and calm, left everyone speechless. But the hush was soon flooded over with celebration at their safe arrival into Casino Night Zone.

 

After putting some distance between them and the alpha zone, the group finally stopped to rest. The Code Stabilizer was left activated. It was clear now that no zone could be trusted.

They sat inside an alcove away from the abundant bumpers and moving blocks. Some animals immediately fell asleep despite the neon lights and uncomfortable sleeping surface. Sonic and Mighty were already discussing where to go next. With its many bumpers, obstacles, and drops, Casino Night Zone was not a suitable place for the little animals to stay.

Amy listened to their conversation, until she noticed Tails sitting alone. She got up.

In front of Tails, building upon building obstructed any kind of view. Still he gazed out.

With a careful smile, Amy sat beside him. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Tails answered quietly. He moved the Code Stabilizer into his other hand. “Gn... Can you hold this for me, Amy? My hands are tired…”

Amy took it. “You’ve been holding it a long time!”

“Yeah.”

“Woah…” Amy marveled down at the device, at the electric blue lights spinning inside the pink orb. “It’s so pretty and cool.” She looked back over at him. “I can’t believe you made this still!”

Tails only opened and closed his hands to relieve their ache.

Amy waited. “...Tails? I’m sorry what happened about Aquatic Ruin…”

His eyes lowered.

“That was your home, wasn’t it? That zone…”

Tails nodded.

“It’s special to me too.” Her voice grew brighter, “That’s where I met you. That’s where I had so much fun becoming your friend.”

A sniffle came from Tails. He shook his head slightly. “Amy… you’re always so sure things can be okay. I know what you’re going to say. But… this time, I'm just not sure they c-can…”

Amy realized he was holding his breath, just to restrain tears. “Tails…”

 

After an hour or so, the little animals were roused from their sleep. The plan was to continue to Hill Top Zone in hopes that it was still intact. And to their relief, it was.

Upon their arrival, animals from Hill Top Zone eagerly approached to exchange news. Sonic and the others learned that disturbances in this zone were increasing. The animals reported fluctuating music, as well as brief periods of geology skewing at strange angles. Still, they offered to lead Sonic and the others to a sheltered area that was comfortable and safe from lava. And to give them fresh fruit to eat. The group overflowed with thank you’s.

The Hill Top animals led the way. 

Sonic allowed everyone to pass by. He felt an ominous shift inside himself, signaling that a surge of purple energy was on its way. Closing his eyes, he let the electricity flood over. He didn't reach for the Chaos Emerald. This time he focused on the mysterious images and sounds that flashed by. Mechanical sounds. Soft blips. Yellow numbers scrolling over a red background. And behind the red background, a view of a snowy landscape.

Sonic concentrated on the landscape. It was difficult through the whirling energy. But he realized, the landscape was moving. It passed under him as if he was running. But it wasn't through his own eyes. It was through the eyes of someone else. Or something else. The red background, and the blipping yellow numbers made him feel like he was looking at a screen.

The purple energy lifted. Soft green grass replaced its electric colors.

Hill Top Zone surrounded him once again.

Sonic tilted his head, very slowly. He wasn't sure what to make of what he had just seen.

Ahead, the group was climbing up a grassy slope, one by one. It was surrounded by blue rock faces. Tall, tall pine trees peeked out from behind the top of the hill. Their lofty branches gently swayed on a breeze.

Closing his eyes, Sonic felt the wind float down and filter through his spines.

Mighty was last. He stopped beside Sonic and nodded. “How are you feeling?”

“Great~” Sonic answered with a pose.

Mighty smiled and shook his head. “You’re taking this all quite well.”

Without a word more, Sonic zipped forward. Stars flicked in front of the others, until he skidded in front of Amy and Tails. “Hey hey hey~!”

Amy grinned. “Hi Sonic!”

“Oh, Sonic!” Tails said as Sonic walked backwards in front of them.

"Hey, Amy," Sonic began, "Sorry for losing somma your cards back there."

"Aw, that's okay!" Amy smiled. "What's important is, I memorized the ones from your reading! I'm going to think about them. I'll tell you when I have an idea of what they mean."

"Great!"

Tails looked at them with some confusion.

Sonic slowed so he could walk beside Tails. "And hey. Tails?"

Tails looked up at him.

"You were right to work on your new invention, Little Buddy," Sonic told him warmly. "Ya know. I was so focused on fixing the problem, as fast as possible, so the glitchy stuff would stop, that I wasn't paying attention to anything else. But you saw people gettin scared and hurt, and wanted to stop that first. And I just wanted to say, I'm proud of ya for it!"

Tails blushed and looked very happy.

"Me too!" Amy exclaimed. "You were so brave! You went back to that Woods Zone! And even though it was scary, you took those samples from it, and made your Code Stabilizer from them. I never would've thought of making a good thing out of a scary place like that!"

"You did WHAT?" Sonic stared at Tails. "You went back??"

"Yup!" Amy beamed. "And I went with him!"

Sonic rolled his head back and smiled. "Course you did, rascal..." Then he laughed and ruffled up her hair. "Well! We wouldn't be here if you guys hadn't!"

Tails was looking down at the Code Stabilizer. He murmured, "...I just wish I could stabilize things permanently."

The other two looked at him.

Sonic commented, "C'mon, that's not your fault. Stuff's gonna keep glitching til we fix the Super Emerald."

Tails shook his head. "But I mean, it's how my Code Stabilizer can only stabilize things that are inside- inside its- I'll call it, its stabilizing field. Back in Aquatic Ruin, when glitched things left the stabilizing field, they went back to being glitched..."

Amy nodded. "I kind of wondered why that would happen... Maybe you can research more stuff and upgrade it?"

Tails rubbed the side of his face. “But that’s what I was trying to say before... With the flowers- Sonic, remember when I showed the flowers to you? The glitched one and the stable one?"

"Yup," Sonic answered.

"When I made the glitched flower touch the stable one, it triggered the code change. And its code got fixed. And it stayed fixed because the zone around it was normal. But Aquatic Ruin… well… the whole zone is glitched. So even when objects got fixed by the stabilizing field… the zone outside just triggered the codes to go corrupt again when they weren't in the field anymore.”

Sonic and Amy both made a long sounds in understanding.

“...Well… what iiif...” Amy trailed. Then she raised her arms wide at the barrier around them, “What if you make it even bigger!” 

Tails answered quietly, “I can’t make my Code Stabilizer any better than this. I already used the very best things in my workshop.”

“Oh-” She lowered her arms. “Sorry.”

“Besides,” Tails sighed softly. “That won’t work either. The stabilizing field would need to be… way too big. Like, more than half the size of the whole zone. Just to prevent codes from corrupting back... And sustaining a stabilizing field that big, it's- I just don't think it's possible.” He looked down at his device. “I need… something else. Like… waves... Instead of a field. A bunch of short waves that can travel a long distance. But how can I make something that emits those kinds of waves?" He sighed. "...I wish I had more of Eggman’s technology.”

Everyone paused in contemplation. 

By this time, they had reached the shade of the pine trees. The air was cool. Swaying shapes of sunlight cast across the ground, and over their bodies as they walked.

Sonic, Tails, and Amy racked their brains for any Eggman bases that might've had surviving technology. On South Island, Sonic made sure everything in Scrap Brain Zone was destroyed. But he wasn't able to do the same for Little Planet. It may have been an option if not for its planetary cycle. It wouldn't return to South Island for another month. Now, West Side Island had plenty of surviving technology after Eggman left, but Tails had already scavenged it all. He said none would help him.

Both Sonic and Tails contemplated Angel Island. Although Launch Base Zone was likely intact, it mostly served as a repair station and launch pad for the Death Egg. It probably wouldn't have anything helpful. And the Death Egg itself, and Eggman's other floating base, Flying Battery, both crashed to their demise.

Tails's face began to look visibly upset. But Sonic told him, "Wait a sec," and then called over his shoulder. "Yo, Mighty!!"

They waited for Mighty to catch up to them from the rear. After Sonic explained what Tails needed, Mighty thought back to anything he might've seen on his travels.

At length, Mighty spoke. “Actually... Knuckles mentioned-” But he hesitated. “...I gather we’ve given up keeping him secret?”

“Tff yeah, don’t even bother,” Sonic quipped.

Mighty laughed, then gently moved a branch from his path. “Knuckles, he mentioned the Death Egg. That pieces fell to his island after it bursted into… well, pieces.”

Sonic smirked and shook his head, “Landed there AGAIN? Will he ever be free of that egg?”

“Oh, it’s not such a bad thing,” Mighty explained. “He said he wants to investigate those pieces, because Eggman may have information of his people stored there. ...So maybe, you can find what you seek there?”

The gears in Tails’ mind were already turning. “The Death Egg…”

“Uhhhh,” Sonic laughed. “But it got absolutely destroyed, right? Anything left’d be totally fried.”

“Nn...” Tails responded. “If it got separated into big pieces while it fell like Knuckles said, some parts might have gotten away from the fire, and still be okay.” 

The others watched Tails’ face build with with excitement. 

“The Death Egg was different from all of Eggman’s other bases…” Tails said, with obvious admiration. “It’s the hugest one he ever built. And had the most amazing technology that he’s ever made. And, he really wanted to make it his final base! He put it in space and everything! So, EVERYTHING would be on it. If any of the computers there still work, we could learn a bunch of stuff… about everything...”

“Then let’s go!” Amy cheered.

Sonic and Mighty exchanged skeptical glances.

But then, Sonic shrugged. “Well. It’s kinda perfect? Knuckles can’t leave the Emerald Altar now. We can just bust onto his island and do whatever we want.”

Mighty smiled nervously in response. “M-maybe not. You see, the pieces landed in Ice Cap Zone. We can’t very well wander a place like that. Not safely. We’ll need him to lead us to the wreckage site, at least.”

The mention of the zone sent a jolt through Sonic’s body. The snowy landscape that appeared to him during recent power surges immediately came to mind. He balled his fist and blurted, “WE GOTTA GO!”

Mighty jumped.

“I got a good feeling about this!”

Amy balled her first the same way and punched the air. “Me too!”

“I like Ice Cap Zone!” Tails beamed as he punched the air as well. “I don’t even get very cold there. And I know Knuckles will help us. He knows we’re good guys now!”

Sonic smiled with a sigh. “Not sure bout that. This time might be a little different, bud.”

Tails’ smile faded, but Amy gasped with excitement, “I can meet him??”

Mighty looked meaningfully at Sonic. “...Knuckles is stubborn, but he’s also practical. If we explain our plan, and give alternatives for the altar, then he will surely help us. …Maybe someone can watch the Super Emerald in his stead, perhaps?”

Sonic smirked, “And I’m the someone, huh? ...I’ll let you do the convincing.” 

 

New possibilities lifted everyone’s spirits. Their legs felt light, and they had energy to joke and laugh, even with their sore feet. Tails especially looked washed with relief. He smiled bright as Amy chattered by his side.

Up just a few more slopes, and the trees parted to reveal a mild meadow. Dotted over the grass were countless little flowers. A large rock face sheltered the meadow on one side, and pine trees on the other. Near the back of the meadow, a few animals were waiting to show the visitors a grand pile of berries, fruit, nuts, and mushrooms set out on a tree stump. The weary travelers happily ate their fill.

Afterwards, as the Hill Top animals helped the other animals build dens in the ground and the trees, Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Mighty gathered to arrange the details of their new plan.

First, Mighty said that they needed supplies--warm clothing and food--before considering a journey through Ice Cap Zone. It was hostile on its own, and the added possibility of zonal disturbances meant they needed to take precautions. More importantly, Tails revealed, they needed a method of taking any information they found on the Death Egg back to West Side Island. He had such a thing called a data drive. All of the things they needed could be found back at his treehouse. In the now alpha Aquatic Ruin Zone.

Before anyone had the chance to ask whether going back was an option, Sonic volunteered himself and Mighty to go--Sonic to get them there quickly, and Mighty to carry everything on the way back. Mighty agreed.

While Tails gave Sonic a quick tutorial on the communicator, Amy handed Mighty the Code Stabilizer.

“O-oh-” Mighty stammered.

“It’s okay,” Amy told him. “You can’t mess up any of the settings. Tails put all the buttons in the side panel, see? Inside here.”

Sheepishly, Mighty took it. “Thank you, Little Rose.”

Amy nodded in her gleeful way. "Be careful, okay Mighty?"

"Oh, of course I will," he smiled.

Amy's smiling face slowly lowered. Her expression turned purposeful. “...Mighty?”

“Yes?”

“Please. Go as fast as you can,” she told him. “The glowy grid already came through this zone once before. If anything happens, we won’t have the stabilizer this time.”

Sonic overheard her, and winked. “We won’t let ya down!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like we finally have a plan to deal with the zonal disturbances! And they're all working together to do it!
> 
> We're gearing up for my favorite part of the story. Hope you're ready!
> 
> [Chapter 18 Notes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Xzhj4ZPYltZRnB6WNgfkD2DXapq-1WJPEZukxjIishI/edit?usp=sharing)  
> (Just press back to return to this page)


	19. Chapter 19

Amy and Tails sat in a meadow of green grass and colorful flowers. Here, where the Hill Top animals provided them a safe place to stay, a lull in their adventure could finally be enjoyed. Tails took a big bite from a pear while Amy organized her tarot cards upon the grass.

Static pricked from Tails' communicator. Sonic’s voice emerged, “I see it up ahead.”

Tails scrambled. He pressed the button on the communicator and tried to hide that his mouth was full. “Th-that was fast!”

“You betcha~” Sonic playfully replied. “We’re gettin up close on Aquatic Ruin's weird glitching. We'll see how the communicators hold up."

Tails nodded. "They should be alright. Might get static-y, though."

Sonic answered, "Cool! I’ll let ya know when we get to the treehouse. You'll hafta tell me where to find the data drive.”

"Okay, Sonic!"

Tails returned to eating his pear. It was soft and sweet and wonderful. He happily swayed side to side as he chewed.

“Okay!" Amy announced while gathering her cards back up. "I'm only missing four."

Tails blinked. "Some are missing?"

“Yeah. Back in Aquatic Ruin. Me and Sonic had to run really fast from the glitchy stuff! And that’s when some flew away.”

Tails quietly nodded.

Amy slipped the deck back into their box. After she closed it, she gazed at the mysterious design upon its front. "...I guess those cards are just weird pixels now, huh? Just like the rest of the forest..."

"Mm," said Tails, with some sadness.

Amy looked over at him. "Oh, I'm sorry, Tails. I'm not meaning to make you even sadder about your home. But I didn't- It's that, thinking of my cards that got left behind..." She lifted her head to look at the pine trees standing at the edge of the meadow. "It made me remember... the whole forest. It got left behind too. Those poor trees and plants that couldn't run from the glitching..."

With big, sentimental eyes, Tails nodded up and down. His mouth opened. "...The forest..." No more words followed.

Amy leaned over and squeezed him with a hug. He hugged her back.

After a moment, Tails murmured softly, "...I didn't care a lot when Chemical Plant Zone got corrupt. Because- no one likes it. It's ugly, and dangerous!" He pulled away from the hug and looked at Amy. "But Aquatic Ruin... I lived there. And so many of the animals too... And all the plants that lived there, and the ruins that were there, longer than anyone can ever know..."

Amy just looked back, and listened.

"But... it's all went away now... It's an alpha zone. And it- makes me afraid..." Tails rubbed his arm. "There's so many other zones in the world, isn't there? With their own plants and animals and ruins... Are they all going to disappear too? Even though they mean so much?"

Amy half-smiled. "Maybe some, but... That's why we're all starting our new mission! You, me, Sonic, and Mighty! And Knuckles with us too! We're going to stop the glitching. And then after that, we can fix all the zones that got messed up. We can make them be back again."

A true smile shone on Tails' face. "I know. I was just saying what I get scared of sometimes. Sometimes my scaredness takes up so much of me that I don't know what to do."

"That's okay," Amy smiled.

"...Amy?"

Amy looked at him.

"Let's make a promise," Tails said. "To never give up. Okay?"

Amy gasped and scooted closer to him. "Yeah, Tails!"

"I promise, that I'll make it so you can get your cards back."

Amy beamed. "I promise too. I'll never give up! Not until you have your home back, Tails! The trees and plants and ruins. All of it."

Tails was surprised to see Amy hold her pinky out to him. He seemed unfamiliar with the gesture, but still, he held his out too.

Amy curled her pinky around his and beamed bright.

 

Upon their return, Mighty handed Tails and Amy the backpacks that were packed for them. "Here you are! Each of you have clothes for Ice Cap, and a blanket, and a few other things. We also packed some food that hopefully won't freeze too badly..."

"Thanks, Mighty!" Amy smiled. "I'll put my tarot cards in here too!"

Tails checked his backpack to make sure the data drive was inside. 

"Okay~! Here's the plan~" Sonic sang. He began counting on his fingers, "One--we go to Angel Island. Two--Mighty asks Knuckles to let me watch the Super Emerald. He, uh, hopefully says yes. Three--he'll lead the rest of you through Ice Cap to get to the Death Egg. Four--Tails takes whatever information stuff he needs from the Death Egg." When he saw Tails struggling with putting on his heavy backpack, Sonic gave him a hand. "And then five--you guys come back, let me n Knuckles trade places, and we'll come back here so Tails can get to work again."

“But Sonic- ack!” Tails choked when Sonic pulled his backpack too high.

Sonic laughed, “Whoops! Sorry bud.”

Tails turned around and adjusted the straps. “Sonic, but how will we get to Angel Island? Without the Tornado…”

Sonic thumbed over at Mighty.

Amy gasped. “You know a secret way? Like in the rainy zone?”

Mighty chucked, “Something like that.”

Because of his shell, Mighty wore just one backpack strap, diagonally, across his torso. A branch picked up from Aquatic Ruin Zone was fitted between his back and the bag. Everyone else wore theirs normally, with Tails in charge of the Code Stabilizer once again.

Amy raised her hand. “Oh! I have a question too!”

"Yes?" Mighty smiled.

Amy looked over at Sonic. "That plan makes you be all alone with the Angel Island emeralds.”

“Eh, I don’t mind," Sonic shrugged. "Just gimmie one of the communicators.”

"But Sonic!" Amy reacted. "I wanted to help Knuckles be not alone in keeping the emeralds safe. And now, you'll be alone with them instead?"

Tails said thoughtfully, "Maybe someone should be with you... Because, how will you be able to hear the communicator if you're fixing the Super Emerald?"

Mighty nodded. "It's a good point."

"I guess you're right..." Sonic acknowledged.

"Just... not me," Mighty said quickly. "I can't handle that place for long. I'd rather help with Ice Cap."

"Then me!" Amy chimed. She spun around with clasped hands, "Ohhh I would love, LOVE to help to take care of the legendary emeralds of Angel Island!"

"B-but Amy-!" Tails exclaimed loudly.

Everyone looked at him after the outburst.

Tails almost flinched at their sudden gazes. "U-um..." he scrambled. "What if- What if, I stay with you, Sonic?"

“Nah, can’t be you, bud. We need ya at the Death Egg. You’re the one who understands all that techno stuff, afterall,” Sonic said. “Knuckles hasta lead ya, and you’ll need Mighty for any heavy lifting.”

Tail suddenly grew very pale.

Sonic pulled Amy up into his side, "So it's perfect! Me n Amy’ll babysit that pesky Super Emerald while you guys do your thing.”

But Amy noticed Tails’ expression. “...Tails? Are you alri-”

“No! Um, I mean- Yes!” Tails blurted. Then he quieted, and fiddled with his fingers. “...I just thought, that... you or Sonic would be with me too…”

Sonic chuckled. “Ey, don’t be scared of Mighty n Knuckles.”

This only made Tails look embarrassed.

Sonic blinked. “Hey- T-Tails? I'm only teasing."

Tails didn't answer.

"You okay?" Sonic pressed. "What's the matter, Little Buddy?"

The others quieted for Tails to answer. 

Tails briefly looked at Amy before letting his eyes wander to the ground.

Amy paused. Then she turned to the other two. “...It’s because, he’s afraid of Mighty.”

Mighty let out a sudden, apologetic sigh, as if he was anticipating the answer. “Sorry.”

Sonic raised an eyebrow. “Eh? Why’s that?”

Amy shrugged with concern. "I'm not really sure..." She turned and looked to Tails.

Tails kept his eyes to the ground. He gave the tiniest shrug. “...I don’t know… He came suddenly when I was in Woods Zone and scared me. Like all fast and scary, in a ball. Then he got up and I thought he was a bad guy.”

“Sorry!” Mighty repeated fretfully.

Sonic looked at Tails. “But... ya know he's not a bad guy now, right?”

Tails' mouth fidgeted.

Sonic waited. "...What? You're still afraid he's bad?"

Amy stared in scandalized shock.

Tails shuffled close to Sonic. Realizing he wanted to whisper, Sonic leaned his ear down. Tails whispered. 

Slowly, Sonic’s lips curled in to keep from laughing.

“What is it?” Mighty asked.

“He says, uh, you- pff-" Sonic cleared his throat. "He says that you... have the same colors as Eggman.”

Mighty welled up with a slow horror.

“Tails!!” Amy squeaked.

“Forget it forget it!” Sonic pleaded with fake desperation. “Don’t think about it!”

Mighty stared. “I can’t… Oh no…”

Sonic guffawed. “Even got the yellow accent color n everything!!”

“SONIC!” Both Mighty and Amy exclaimed.

Sonic and Mighty were howling with laughter now. Tails looked comforted, and smiled along with them.

“Oh, that’s awful…” Mighty managed to say through tears. “Oh I’m SO sorry, Little Tails."

Amy turned to Tails with a softened expression,  “Don’t worry, Tails. Mighty’s not bad.”

“I know,” Tails answered defensively. “I’m just still… scared. I just, d-don’t know him… I don’t know.”

Mighty smiled. “It’s okay to be scared. And I don’t mind. But, you'll need my help to get to the Death Egg. Sonic and Amy may not be with you in Ice Cap Zone. But Little Tails, I will protect you from any danger. Alright?”

Tails nodded, timidly.

 

They were off. 

Down into the volcanic caverns of Hill Top Zone.

Mighty led them single-file along the stony walls. They were careful to avoid lava pools churning near the center. Deeper and deeper. Until waves of heat distorted the air around them.

“I’m hot,” Tails eventually whined.

Amy panted. “Where are we going, Mighty?”

Sonic piped up from the rear, “We alright?”

Mighty wiped his forehead. “I'm sorry for the heat." Reaching down, he helped Amy onto the platform he stood on. “With so many zones affected the way they are, this is the best I can do for us. Not much longer.”

They continued climbing a series of platforms, then took a turn down a narrow tunnel. Deep blue, and dark. Inside, even Tails and Amy had trouble standing upright. But here at least the air was cooling.

Ahead, a soft glow reflected across the rocks.

Mighty squeezed with some difficulty through a hole in the wall, where the light was pouring in from. The others followed easily, one by one, into a small room. Immediately the light source became apparent--a bright white portal floating near a cavern wall. 

“Woooooaaah…” Amy marveled. “What is that?”

Tails grabbed Sonic’s arm. “Hey, it’s-! Sonic! It’s one of those weird things we went through before!"

"Sure is!"

The time came to teach Tails and Amy about zone hops. Mighty explained that they should never use a zone hop without himself or Sonic present. If used incorrectly, the danger of getting trapped in the dimension inside was very real. He reviewed with them the Rules of Safeness, and wasn't satisfied until the children could recite the rules back to him.

With that out of the way, Mighty set out to test the zone hop. He took the branch from his bag and stuck it through the portal. It immediately struck a wall.

“Oh, it...” He tried again. “That’s strange. There didn't used to be a wall on the other side...”

Sonic noticed a suspicious scraping sound. He walked to the other side of the hop. "Uh, Mighty?"

"Yes?"

Sonic came back and took the branch from the armadillo. "Go look at the other side."

Mighty, along with Tails and Amy, did as he said. There they saw the other end of the stick--the end that was supposed to be in a different zone. It had been scraping against the cavern wall.

Mighty stared. “What? It's not- ...I don’t... understand… Such a thing has never happened…” 

Amy watched in wonder. “...Did it get glitched?”

Sonic set the branch on the ground. Then he jumped back and forth through the zone hop a few times, with no effect. "Whatever happened, it's busted!"

Tails only stood by. Then, his eyes snapped wide open. “OH.” Clumsily he removed the Code Stabilizer from his backpack. “Ah! Sorry! It’s this, it’s this.”

"The Code Stabilizer?" Sonic asked.

“I forgot about that!” Amy said.

“Yeah! I forgot it was activated," Tails said. "It must be stopping our codes from changing, so it makes us stay here instead of going into the new zone." 

Mighty tilted his head in wonder. "Is that how the zone hops work..."

Tails pressed a button. They heard a blipping sound. “Okay, now try.”

Sonic jumped right through. 

He landed upon a huge vine. It wobbled beneath his feet. His spines and arms bumped into huge leaves and dangling fruits. 

Behind, Amy emerged from the portal, “SONIC, you didn’t listen to the rules!”

Tails also appeared and smacked into Amy. Both were nabbed out of the way by Sonic just in time for Mighty to land as well. 

“Wow! Sonic, that was so cool!” Tails beamed. He looked happily at the jungle surrounding them.

Mighty put the branch back into his bag. “We’ll head now to Labyrinth Zone. From there, we should see Lava Reef. ...Somehow. You say they're merging together, Sonic?"

"Yup," Sonic nodded. "Hopefully they're not going the way of Starlight and Chemical Plant.”

 

Together, Sonic and the others gawked up towards the sky. Floating behind the clouds was a sprawling land mass. Lava Reef Zone. Red hot veins of lava, which usually slithered across the entire landscape, were confined to only the highest volcano peaks. Everywhere else, they met with water and fizzled out.

"It's flooded..." Mighty whispered.

Sonic sighed with frustration. "It wasn't like this before." He watched the waterspouts pouring onto Lava Reef from Labyrinth Zone. "The water was just turnin to steam last time I was here."

Mighty looked at him. "The heat from Lava Reef was evaporating it... But if no longer? It means the entire zone is cooling down."

Tails inched closer to Sonic’s side.

Sonic turned to Tails. "Tails. I need ya to turn off the stabilizer one more time. We gotta use these waterfalls to switch to Lava Reef's gravity."

"Okay, Sonic," Tails quietly said as he took his backpack off.

 

Running now, through pattering rain. Lava Reef Zone was flooded in at least four inches of water. Mighty carried Amy on his shoulder while Tails flew a few feet above the others.

"This isn't good," Mighty said to Sonic's back. "Hidden Palace is underground. This water..."

Sonic nodded. "I know."

 

Deep green water cascaded loudly down the walls of Hidden Palace. Water gushed down its staircases like rivers in a forest. The group waded through the waist-deep water. 

Sonic spoke loudly to be heard over the noise, “Unreal. Knuckles hasta know the palace is flooding?"

"He has to," Mighty agreed.

After some slipping and sliding, they made it up two flights of stairs. Here the water level dwindled back down to their knees.

Ahead, a wide waterfall stood in their path. It poured from a ledge above them. Sonic hopped through it, and waited for the others to follow. 

One by one, they joined him. 

“Just a little further," Sonic said as they went up a few stairs.

They entered a long hallway. Since it was on a slightly higher plane, the water level only reached their shoes. They no longer had to wade. Slowly they passed the purple pillars running down the center of the hallway, their feet creating soft sloshing sounds inside the confined space.

At the end, they came to a small room, where a teleporter stood waiting.

They all came to a stop.

"There it is. The teleporter that'll take ya to the Emerald altar.” Sonic swung his head over to Mighty. "Ya ready?"

Mighty set both Amy and Tails down, who he had been carrying through the water. "Yes. I’ll be back soon.”

“Good luck~”

“Go Mighty!”

Mighty gave an optimistic wave. Then he turned and stepped onto the teleporter's red orb. It gave beneath his foot. Suddenly, it flung backwards. A loud sound, like an explosion, blasted from the hallway behind them. Everyone was knocked forward to the ground.

Pitch black. Tails felt the ground undulate beneath him. His breath was hot and rapid against the tiles. Distant rumbles branched through the entire building. Before his mind could catch up, he felt his arms shakily push himself from the ground. No matter where he looked, all he saw was darkness. 

“Wha…”

"What happened...?"

“Is everyone okay?”

No one seemed to know how to answer. Their bodies felt jarred and disorientated.

"It's dark..."

A flash of light pierced their eyes. Everyone reacted in surprise.

“Sorry,” Tails whispered. He moved his flashlight so it shined towards the ground.

Mighty picked himself up. “I-I’m alright.”

“Me too,” Amy said.

Tails pointed the light towards Sonic. He was already on his feet, and looking in the direction of the explosion. Tails moved the flashlight to illuminate the area. From the darkness, the hallway was revealed. It was a pile of rubble. Pillars were crushed. The ceiling tilted downwards at a sharp angle.

The way out was blocked. 

Shocked silence passed over everyone.

“...It... collapsed?” 

“We’re lucky…” 

“Geeeez.” 

Slowly, Mighty sat back down. He shook his head.

Sonic came back over. He whisked the red orb up from the ground and felt its weight in his hands. 

Amy came to Sonic's side. “Let’s fix the teleporter.” 

Mighty rubbed his face. “I’m so sorry. It must've been me... I wasn’t paying attention to my strength...” 

Tails pointed the flashlight at the base of the teleporter. "Wait..."

"What is it?"

Reaching into the center, where the red orb was meant to lay, Tails pressed something. It clicked. “...There was a pressure switch under the ball.” 

“A what?” 

Tails paused. “It’s a bomb trigger. You press it, and it'll detonate bombs, remotely. ...Knuckles must have put the bombs on the pillars holding up the ceiling in the hallway… and then...” 

Sonic laughed. “Wow! He sure learned a thing or two from Eggman, didn't he?” 

The flashlight also revealed that components inside the teleporter's base appeared to be smashed. "Oh... I think he destroyed parts of the teleporter beforehand, too... so that it couldn't work anyway..." 

“...He would go to these lengths…” Mighty murmured.

"Why though?" Sonic asked, mostly to himself.

There was heavy a pause.

Amy blinked. “Wait then. Then we… We’re trapped?” 

“That’s what Knuckles does best,” Sonic said, with amused annoyance. Then he looked meaningfully over at Mighty. 

Sighing, Mighty stood back up. “I think I can lift it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lava Reef and Hidden Palace seem in trouble...
> 
> [Chapter 19 Notes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/10ifMgla46jNryafWzxzqBAqaDHRO6pgeC0b9mXJxmkw/edit?usp=sharing)  
> (Just press back to return to this page)


	20. Chapter 20

Amy called forward, “Careful not to hurt yourself, Mighty!”

“I’ll be fine,” came Mighty's voice from the collapsed hallway. He had been backing along it, until with a soft tap, his shell met the sloped ceiling.

The area of Hidden Palace that Knuckles had booby-trapped--the teleporter room and the hallway leading up to it--was still pitch black. Only Tails' flashlight gave any impression of the surroundings. He kept it centered on Mighty to help him from tripping on debris left in the water by the collapse.

"Is it- You're really going to try to lift it?" Tails asked Mighty in concern. He shined the flashlight upwards. "But... there's a whole nother floor above this ceiling. And maybe more. It's like trying to lift a whole building."

Leaning against a wall, Sonic smirked. "Haven't seen yet, huh?"

"Huh? Seen what?" Tails asked while moving the light to illuminate Sonic and Amy.

Amy hopped and flexed her arms. "Mighty's super strong! He can lift anything, easy!"

They heard Mighty chuckle in the darkness. "Well. It's quite big, as Tails said... But I'm sure I've moved things just as big."

Tails said nothing more. He only shined the flashlight back towards Mighty at other end of the hallway.

“Now listen," Mighty said. "When I lift this, I'll do it by scooting back, and keep all the weight on my shell. Just worry about getting to the other side once the way is wide enough."

"Got it~" Sonic announced as he took Amy and Tails' arms to carry them along when it was time to go. 

Mighty nodded. "Alright. I think I'll start. Ready?"

"Ready!" Amy answered.

With a great heave, Mighty took a step back. 

There was an earthy groan.

Another step. His shell wedged against the ceiling.

A deep, boisterous tremor ran through the building. The ceiling rose. Sharply it scraped against the walls, fracturing delicate tilework. Fragments splintered off and rained down into the shallow water. The dark space became dimly lit by reflections of water casting over the ceiling and walls. Its source--a thin, horizontal strip of light leaking in from the outside.

Mighty took another step. The architecture shook side to side with a booming grumble.

Tails shouted and slipped to the ground. Sonic picked him back up. His eyes stayed fixed on the light peeking behind the darkness. The opening was only a few inches tall. As soon as Mighty took another step backwards, it widened more.

Sonic zipped forward with Tails and Amy, and slid under.

The other side was bright to their dark-adjusted eyes. They noticed first a large purple pillar strewn across the ground in front of them. Piles of broken turquoise tiles lay all around it. Next they noticed mist wafting onto their fur. Behind the fallen pillar, the large waterfall they encountered before still poured from the floor above. But it moved in writhing directions as Mighty made his way beneath the building.

Sonic, Tails, and Amy turned to watch Mighty's progress. The sight of the colossal architecture bobbing up and down was unnatural and dizzying. 

After a few of these ups and downs, the red of Mighty’s shell peeked out from the hallway’s entrance. He continued until his shell was halfway out. Then, with a strained groan, he turned around so that he faced the others, with the weight on the building still on his back.

Everyone realized that Mighty would have to put the whole thing down. Both Tails and Amy watched with arms anxiously pulled to their chests. Sonic didn't seem worried.

Mighty moved forward. Enough for the ceiling to slide off his shell. The huge architecture dropped into his hands. The children shouted. Slowly, shakily, Mighty bent his knees to lower it until he couldn't go any farther. 

Then, he let go.

The entire thing smashed to the ground. 

Dust rushed forth. Booming reverberations. Debris tumbled down the walls, splashed into flooded waters. Everyone kept their hands pressed tight to their ears.

Gradually the noise dwindled, until only the sounds audible were Tails and Amy coughing from lingering dust.

Mighty turned towards the others and tossed his arms up. “Tada~! I feel so light now!”

Amy coughed. “Ya-aaaay, Mighty!” She rushed over and gave him a big hug.

Sonic laughed.

No one said anything more. They all collectively took in a breath of relief.

Tails remembered the flashlight in his hands. He turned it off and returned it to his backpack.

Mighty glanced back at the collapsed hallway behind him. Somberly, he placed his hand on the wall. “...Knuckles did not build this with me in mind. He must have anticipated me staying away from Angel Island... but you pursuing this further, alone.”

Sonic nodded, since he knew Mighty was addressing him. He crossed his arms. “I had a feeling he’d set up a trap. But I was thinking it'd be on those big long stairs again… That’s why I took us this lower way instead of the top one.”

“Sonic… are you scared?” Tails asked. “That trap Knuckles made was- that was really dangerous... Do you think he'll hurt us if we keep going?”

"Probably," Sonic said casually. "But hey, that's why Mighty's volunteered to go first, right?"

Mighty answered with a smile and a slight glare. "Yes." His eyes softened as he looked to Tails and Amy. "This is his duty, afterall. He believes the balance of the world is protected by him alone. He'll do what he thinks he must, even if we mean the best."

Amy gently responded, "I understand." She closed her eyes. "Like Tails told, those amazing emeralds have so much power and magic. And Knuckles... if he thinks he's all alone to protect them, then. He can't let anything happen, or he'll feel like it's all his fault...”

Mighty gave a faint nod.

There was a pause.

“I’d really like to be the one to talk to him…” Mighty murmured.

Tails looked apprehensively at him. "...Will you be okay though?"

Mighty, he just smiled. "Knuckles and I are old friends. I've known him,... a long while. It will be alright. ...The real issue now is, getting to the Emerald Shrine.”

Sonic and Mighty looked at one another, and asked at the same time, “Do you know another way in?”

Sonic laughed. “Jinx!”

“Wha-“ Mighty blinked.

“Ah, nothin,” Sonic chuckled. “Hmmm… There must be some other way he uses…”

“I’m afraid we don’t know it, though.”

As the two discussed, Tails took a quick look around. Then he began walking towards the waterfall. 

Amy followed after him. "Tails, where are you going?”

“The teleporter would have taken us up, right? So we have to go up?” Tails asked her.

“Ohhh... Yeah, I think so!”

Sonic and Mighty stopped talking when they heard some playful shouts. They looked up to see Tails waving from atop the waterfall ledge. Amy stood cheekily beside him.

“Hey!” Tails called. “We flew up here! There's another floor we can see above here!”

Sonic grinned. “Nice going~!” He turned. “Hey Mighty, gimmie a leg up.”

Sonic stepped into Mighty's clasped hands, and Mighty gave a toss. Sonic landed beside Tails and Amy. The three disappeared from Mighty's view as they walked away from the ledge. 

After a few seconds of waiting, Mighty saw Tails flying down towards him. 

“Hi, Mighty. Um." Tails landed in front of him. "There IS another floor above that one. But it’s too high for me to fly to. Sonic says you can throw me to it. So, I’ll fly you up to where we are.”

So they flew. When Amy saw Tails and Mighty rise to their level, she waved both arms and jumped around. "Mighty, Mighty! Look at all these item boxes!"

Behind her was a line of item boxes along the ground. Six in all. A speed-up, an invincibility, a bubble shield, a lightning shield, a fire shield, and a ring box.

"He's sure got a stash here," Sonic quipped.

Tails motioned to Mighty. As the armadillo came over, Tails pointed straight up. A ceiling loomed high above at an incredible height. But there was a gap. And across this gap, Mighty saw the underside of a bridge, indicating the floor above them.

Mighty nodded. “It’s pretty high. But I can manage. I’ll throw you lighter than I need to, so that you can fly the rest of the way and land safely.”

Tails nodded. Nervously, he stepped into Mighty’s hands. He felt himself lower, then pierce sharply through the air. He laughed with delight. Then once he was close enough, he whirled his tails, enough to fly above the bridge, and then landed neatly onto it.

“Whatcha see, bud?” Sonic called up. "Is it the right way?"

“There’s-! Hey, there’s a teleporter up here!”

Sonic leapt with excitement. “YES! I bet it leads to the Emerald Shrine.”

Sonic scampered eagerly over to Mighty to be thrown too. So Mighty did.

"Me next, Mighty!" Amy beamed.

He tossed Amy too.

Once safely up, Sonic, Tails, and Amy looked expectantly down at Mighty to join them. But the shape of his body, so small against the elaborate tiled floor below, made them remember the height they were at.

"Wait... How will Mighty get up?" Tails asked.

"Ah!" Amy reacted. She knelt at the edge of the bridge and shouted down, "Mighty! What about you!"

A stunned smile showed on Mighty's face. "I..." He realized he needed to shout to be heard. "I don't know!"

Sonic called, "We gotta get ya up here though! You're the one seeing Knuckles!"

Mighty called back, "I know! Just-... let me..."

"I have rope, but it's not long enough," Tails said to Sonic. "And it's already too high for me to fly..."

As Sonic nodded to him, a sharp pain forked behind his forehead. His eye squinted at an oncoming power surge from the emerald once again.

Over the growing roar of power came a shout from Mighty, "Maybe if there's a- a pillar, or piece of wall big enough, I can use it to-" before his voice disappeared behind brilliant purple.

The strange visions returned. The yellow numbers. The red backdrop. Seeing it all again, Sonic decided that he must be looking at some kind of monitor. Perhaps one displaying video from a recording device. Again it showed him a view of Ice Cap Zone. Except this time, there appeared to be large, dark shapes jutting from the snow. 

"Sonic?"

A hand was on his back.

Sonic realized he was on one knee, with his palms to the ground. Beside him was Amy, looking at him with her bright eyes.

"Was that the emerald's power again?" she asked.

Sonic paused. He only looked at the floor below him. "...I needa just do it."

"What?"

He pulled himself to his feet. "We can't keep wasting time. I'M gonna convince Knuckles. I'll tell him about these visions, and our plan."

"I'll come too," Amy said without missing a beat. She followed on his heels.

"You guys, wai-" Tails stopped. He looked down towards Mighty. "W-We'll be right back!"

Tails scampered down some stairs to join the other two, who were already at the teleporter.

“You guys stay here,” Sonic told them. As soon as he stepped onto the red orb, he disappeared into a bright column of light.

Tails shouted, “Hey wait! Sonic?! You don’t have a communicator!” 

Tails jumped after him. Blinding white rushed over his eyes. Seconds later, it dissipated, to reveal sky blue. The teleporter he arrived at was attached to a damaged pathway turned 90 degrees. Tails was ejected sideways into the air. His heart lurched at the endless sky below.

"DAH??"

His tails sputtered, then began whirling to save himself from falling.

Amy’s voice sounded on the communicator, “Did you guys get to the other side?”

“TAILS!!” came Sonic's voice.

Tails gasped. Sonic was falling. There was no platform, no structure for Sonic to land on. No way to save himself. With a fast beating heart, Tails dived after him.

Amy came through again, "I’m coming too!”

"NO!!" Tails yelled into his communicator. "Don't come!"

He reached his arm out to Sonic. Sonic grasped it.

Tails searched desperately for somewhere to land. They had fallen too far to fly back up to the damaged pathway.

"Tails, there!" Sonic pointed. 

About twenty feet away floated a piece of building. Tails turned and glided towards it with slowing tails. When they reached it, they both landed clumsily, scraping across brick and moss. But they were safe.

“Ugh…”

The communicator sounded again, "Tails? What's wrong?"

Tails sighed just to try slowing his heartbeat. “It's- It’s- the wrong place.”

Amy made a sad sound in response. “...What do we do now?”

Tails looked at Sonic. But he didn't have an answer. So the little fox's eyes searched about absently. “I don’t know… Maybe… maybe the teleporters have different settings? Maybe you can get it to take you to the right place... instead of here.”

As he spoke, Amy saw rays of light move across her arm. She turned her head. 

“Look at the base of the teleporter,” Tails told her. “Are there like… any symbols or buttons?”

But Amy wasn’t listening. She squinted her eyes towards the end of the room, where a large pillar stood about five feet away. Something about it didn't seem right. Its surface seemed almost jittery. Faint rays of light came from behind it. 

“Amy?”

“...Just a second.”

With soft steps, Amy walked over to the pillar. Her feet came to a stop in front of it. The close proximity confirmed that its surface was moving in a strange way. Something about it seemed almost ghostly. Like it wasn't actually there.  

Amy reached her hand out. The tips of her fingers phased right through the pillar. She stopped in amazement. She almost couldn't believe it was happening. But her wiggling fingers met no resistance. So she stepped forward, and walked through the pillar.

It was dark. 

In the stillness, a faint electronic sound perked her ears. On the ground sat a gray device. It was about half her size and shaped similar to a canon. But at the end of the barrel, instead of a hole, was a blue lens. Light emitted from it and into the space behind her.

Amy instantly recognized the device. Eggman’s projector. The type he had used on Little Planet to create false images of Metal Sonic.

"...Knuckles used it to make a fake pillar..." she quietly observed. "...To hide something?"

Amy kept walking. To her left hung two mosaics. They looked ancient and mysterious. But something drew her attention away. Ahead, in the next room, she could see the glow of brilliant colors. Great powers she had never felt before pulsated through her body. Deep, profound hums. Folding in upon those higher. Several different melodies swirled from the room ahead.

“Amy? Amy, can you hear this?” Tails asked. “Where are you?”

Amy slowly pressed the button to answer. “...There’s something, like a-a beautiful- huge emeralds in front of me…” 

Sonic’s voice cut in, “Amy, Knuckles is gonna be there. He’ll be-” 

Something yanked Amy from her feet. She yelped. Shoved into a wall. She took out her hammer. But it was caught by her attacker, Knuckles. Loud clacks struck the tile as he threw her hammer across the ground.

“Why are you here?” he demanded.

“Hey,” Amy protested. “You let go of m-” 

“I KNOW you’re here with the others. What reason have you all come.” 

Amy wanted to fight back. And normally she would. But the sacred melodies coming from the other room drew her back into captivation. She turned her head towards them. "I hear... They're singing..."

The stern expression on Knuckles' face didn't waver. But he paused. "...You can hear them?"

Amy half nodded. "They all have different voices... don't they? Each of them. Even from here I can hear them making a song all together." 

Knuckles looked at her inquisitively.

"But one of them... It's really very sick, isn't it? It's in trouble..."

The pressure of the echidna's arm lightened.

Amy said, with more conviction, "We have to help it."

Knuckles gripped her backpack and plucked her up by it.

"Hey!"

She was taken back through the pillar projection, and tossed out upon the ground. "You will do nothing. Leave. Now."

After she pulled herself up, Amy turned her head to him with resilience.

"And tell the others to leave."

"But-"

His voice rose, "You have all trespassed! Do not speak to me."

Amy looked as if she was going to rebut this, but her anger quickly faded. “...I don’t know what trespassed is.”

Knuckles whirled towards her. “It means you have entered this sacred realm without permission.”

“Ohhh…” she expressed earnestly. “Sorry.”

A forceful sigh came from the echidna. 

Amy waited to see what he would say.

Knuckles turned sharply away, and headed back.

"Mighty wanted to talk to you though," she quickly added.

Knuckles stopped. And he paused.

"About our plan. To help you keep the zones from- getting, well, gone from us."

His back remained facing her. "...I am not interested in what Mighty has to say."

Amy's brow lowered, in a hurt expression. "But he's your friend."

No answer.

"...And I can be your friend too. My name, it's Amy Rose. I’m from an island way far down below. And- even though I don't know that much, like your rules and your duty, and all the other things... I know there's amazing magic in our world that helps us, and that we have to help too!"

He didn’t even look at her.

Amy waited again. "...And I learned you’re all alone on Angel Island. And that you’re a secret… to the whole world. I don’t think people should be secrets. That’s not what people are supposed to be. They’re supposed to be happy and go where they want, and have friends! And you can have friends to help you protect the emeralds. Like us.”

“...That's not possible.”

Amy blinked. “But why?”

“I do not answer to you,” Knuckles answered tersely, while walking back over to her. “You have trespassed on my island. Now tell me this plan you speak of.”

Amy's face brightened. "...Okay! The plan is of- a special invention Tails is making.”

Knuckles sighed and shook his head, “What has that to do with me.” 

“Because, you’re part of it! Look!" 

Knuckles watched as Amy slid her backpack off and began rummaging through it. Out she pulled a jacket and gloves.

"These are for Ice Cap Zone! Our plan is to go there, to-"

Her tarot deck slipped out and landed upon the floor.

Knuckles stared at the design upon its box. "...What is that?"

"Hm?"

Awestruck, Knuckles took it up from the ground. “A relic…?”

Amy giggled. “It’s not a relic. It's tarot cards.”

"Tarot cards?"

"Yep! I'll show you," Amy said as she took it from his hands. She opened the box, slid the deck out, and then fanned the cards out for Knuckles to see.

He stared in awe. "...These have the artwork of an ancient time..."

"Yeah! They're really old, I think. But you can use ones that are new if you want. You can even make your own tarot cards! And write your own names of them!"

Knuckles looked up at her slowly. “You know how to write?”

She nodded. “Don’t you?”

“No.”

Her eyes softened. “...You had no one to teach you to…” Then she was struck with a thought. “...How did you learn to talk?”

Knuckles’ eyes narrowed, as if suspicious of her question. But as he contemplated it, he looked suddenly bewildered. And sincere. “I… don’t know.”

This left Amy surprisingly speechless. 

Knuckles paused. Then he turned. "Wait here."

Amy did as he said. He disappeared back behind the false pillar. It was several minutes before he returned. When he did, he came carrying a scroll-like paper and what looked like a pencil.

Knuckles approached and handed both to her. “Write something.”

“Write something?” Amy took them. “Okay.”

She knelt to the ground and spread the paper across the tile. Upon it she wrote the words “Hello! How are you?” and gave the paper back to Knuckles.

He stared at the words for much time. “Then it’s true. ...You write in Eggman’s language.”

Amy's mouth went agape. “HEY! It’s NOT Eggman’s!!”

Knuckles blinked in surprise.

Amy frowned. “It’s the language of all of us…”

He looked at her in deep curiosity. “...This is how everyone in the outside world writes?”

She nodded. “...Why? What’s your language? You’re talking just the same as me."

Knuckles’ eyes wandered back down to the paper. But then, he lifted his head. “It doesn't matter. Tell me this plan you speak of.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's chapter 20! Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> If you'd like to see a diagram of the area Sonic, Tails, and Mighty traversed, see the chapter notes below.
> 
> [Chapter 20 Notes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-4BbHBcDSONNd-Oe43o1q4ay8ob0JpFuAxIUFDK8aJE/edit?usp=sharing)  
> (Just press back to return to this page)


	21. Chapter 21

Cold winds lashed against a decayed pathway. Moss that usually grew thick upon Sky Sanctuary's crumbling, yellow bricks, didn’t here. Instead the moss was frayed, whipped about by periodic gusts. Sonic and Tails squinted against the sharp winds that rushed into their faces and sent moss whirling towards the clouds below.

“It’s hard to breathe,” Tails squeezed out, keeping himself tucked close behind Sonic for shelter.

In an attempt to return to the teleporter, the two had followed the ruins of Sky Sanctuary up as far as they could. Only to end up here, on a single floating path, exposed and at the mercy of harsh winds. 

The communicator sounded, “Tails! Come in, Tails.”

Tails gasped. “It’s Amy!” He turned on his heel and scampered back the way they came. Fierce winds lapped at his back. Near the end of the pathway stood a wall. Tails hunkered behind it to dampen the sound of the wind. He pressed the button. “Amy, are you alright?? You didn’t say anything.”

“What? I can't hear you,” she responded.

As Sonic strolled up next to him, Tails spoke louder, “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. Knuckles says he’ll help us!”

Sonic gawked. “WHAT.”

“You convinced him??”

“Um, well, sort of,” Amy retracted.

They heard the distant voice of Knuckles, who reacted in awe at the communicators, “Amazing...”

“Yo Knuckles~” Sonic greeted. “Nice welcome mat back there.”

Knuckles’ voice grew clearer, “We can hear each other... This is just like how I can speak to you through the Master Emerald...”

Sonic grinned. “Yep! Nifty thing Tails made. Now I can bother you whenever I want! Heh heh heh!”

A cottony cloud whapped Tails in the face. He gave a muffled shout. Sonic chuckled as Tails pushed it away.

“You guys hurry and come here with us,” Amy told them. “Then Knuckles said, he’ll take us to Ice Cap Zone. Maybe. But he wants to try something else first.”

Knuckles added, “Tails. Bring your stabilizing device.”

At those words, Tails squinted. "Yeah, I'm keeping it with me. Why do you-" He stopped. Something suddenly dawned on him. “...To... use on the Super Emerald… I never thought of- Do you think the stabilizing field can fix it?”

“Yeah! We’ll try it on the big emerald!” Amy exclaimed. “We’ll make it be fixed!”

Knuckles countered, "Maybe. There's no telling if it will work."

"Well," Sonic interrupted, “we'd love to meet up with you guys, but we're not sure how to get back there. We’re way up in Sky Sanctuary.”

That's when Knuckles released a deep, impish chuckle. “...Yes. You are. I trICKED you.”

Sonic and Tails looked at each other.

Knuckles continued with amusement, “The Emerald Altar was right in front of you! But you thought the pillar was real. And I made you take the wrong teleporter to Sky Sanctuary instead. How was THAT?” Knuckles let out a boisterous laugh.

Amy joined in on the laughter. “I almost fell for it, but I didn’t!”

Knuckles commented, “You fall for my traps again and again. You're both so easy to fool.”

Sonic smirked with annoyance. “Alright alright. I got no idea what you guys are goin on about. I’m just glad you’re havin a good time. I was afraid we’d all be punched out by now.”

 

The faces of Tails and Knuckles were lit in stark, blue light. Their eyes kept focused.

In front of them stood the stabilizing field. Its size and shape were much different than before. No longer a large dome, it now took the shape of a much smaller sphere. Encapsulated inside was the sharp, threatening form of the purple Super Emerald. Deceptively calm. Gently glowing. With the blue light of the stabilizing field reflecting off its polished surface.

There seemed to be no change to the gem. With each passing moment, the lack of reaction from the Super Emerald only heightened Tails' dread. It felt as if something was building.

The stabilizing field shuddered. Once. And then again. 

Inside the blue sphere, the air began to squeeze.

A magnetic groan. Geometric dents. A section of the stabilizing field crumpled inward. Colors poured across its surface in checkerboard patterns. Tails wanted to flee. But he worked at the Code Stabilizer's keypad until the sphere snapped back into shape. Then, another section collapsed. And another. Deep magnetic reverberations spilled out. 

The gem bursted forth.

Tails stumbled away. But Knuckles stepped forward, and thrusted his palms through the blazing energy. The little fox felt the arms of Amy reach around him. He hid against her. Hot purple bolts of electricity streaked and cracked. Swirls of energy seethed across the altar.

Uncontained noise and power resonated over them, until again Knuckles restored the Super Emerald to its natural state.

The room flashed back to an immediate silence. 

A soft gasp could be heard from Amy. She stared with shock. “...Knuckles… that’s…?”

Sonic gave his head a shake, and unsquinted one of his eyes. The sharp power that had risen within him died down as well. 

“...Sorry…” Tails said aloud to Knuckles. “I didn’t build it strong enough…”

Amy petted his back. “It’s okay. Me and Knuckles just had the idea to try it.”

“It’s as I expected,” Knuckles stoically answered. He didn’t turn from the Super Emerald. “The power of the emeralds is greater than any other. Even Eggman could not create technology to match theirs.”

Thoughtfully, Tails nodded.

Sonic watched Knuckles through a long pause. “...Sooo? You comin with us to Ice Cap?”

Knuckles turned. The facets of Super Emeralds seemed to gleam as he did. 

“I can't believe that emerald…” Amy drifted. “These big emeralds… they can make such bad energies like that?”

Knuckles began walking over. When he reached the others, he crossed his arms. “...Amy Rose told me this plan of yours. Where I am meant to so easily let you to stay at the altar, alone.”

Sonic reclined against the orange Super Emerald and smirked. “Don’t lookit me. I knew you’d never agree.”

In desperation, Tails blurted, “But Knuckles, please-...! It-”

Amy placed a hand on Tails’ shoulder. He quieted.

The echidna’s mouth fidgeted. His head was still high, but his eyes lingered towards the ground. “Amy Rose also told me. That the zonal disturbances became so severe that Tails had to create this technology, just to survive them.”

Sonic blinked in surprise.

“...I am meant to be the Guardian,” Knuckles murmured. His brow grew sharp, and he looked directly at Sonic. “All that I do, is for the emeralds. To keep them, and their realm, safe. I thought I was keeping it all safe. But… this happened. I allowed your homes to come to this state.”

All were quiet. 

Tails was looking down. But then he lifted his head. “It’s not your fault, thou-”

“How much do you know?” Knuckles asked Sonic.

Confused, Sonic only raised an eyebrow. 

“I have felt you trying to reach the altar, from far away.”

Sonic smirked with a hint of frustration. “...How much do I know? I know what you wouldn’t tell me. That the purple Chaos Emerald. Somehow, it’s glitched in me.”

Knuckles closed his eyes. 

Sonic laughed. “That’s really what’s goin on then, isn’t it? ...How?”

“I don’t know.” Knuckles opened his eyes. “I sensed emerald powers within you from the beginning. But I could not know your intentions. That is why I told you nothing. Our alliance proved you could not channel the purple emerald here. So to me, your involvement was done.”

Sonic snickered and slapped Knuckles’ shoulder, “Can’t get rid of me so easy!” He strode past the guardian, and towards the purple Super Emerald. “Seeing you guys try with the stabilizer, it got me thinking. Can't I fix the Super Emerald here and now? I mean, the Chaos Emerald we need is in me, right?" He turned. "But... you woulda already asked me to try it, huh?”

Knuckles nodded. “It won't work.”

“Why not?”

Knuckles only met him with silence.

Sonic rolled his head back dramatically, “Didn’t we JUST learn it’s better if you tell us stuff?”

Knuckles turned sharply to him. “Listen to what I tell you now.”

Sonic flinched at the suddenness.

“When you enter the hidden dimension of the Super Emerald, when you try to clear the Special Stage within it, you may be interrupted. You may be forced out by the emerald. Even if you just grasped it in your hand. Sometimes, your effort is undone.” 

Sonic and the others grew wide eyed. They realized Knuckles was accepting their plan.

“You must not give up,” Knuckles told Sonic. “No matter how many times it happens. Or how many hurdles you face.”

Sonic’s expression slid into a smirk. “You know me by now, right?” 

Amy nodded resolutely at his side. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t give up!” 

Knuckles looked at her with equal resolve. “Amy Rose. Hearer of magic. See to it that he doesn’t.” 

Amy's eyes sparkled over. She swelled with dedication.

Tails looked meekly over in her direction. "Amy... I guess this... ...is goodbye?"

"Tails," she smiled, and squeezed him into a big hug. "Just for a little bit."

Tails hugged back emotionally. "...Don't forget our promise." As he pulled away, he looked at her with a bit more courage. "I'll try not to forget too."

Amy nodded. "I know you can do it, Tails. You're braver than you think!"

Tails smiled.

As the children said their goodbyes, Sonic looked to Knuckles. "Knuckles."

He looked at him.

"I told you already, that I've been getting purple energy inside of me."

Knuckles nodded.

"Well... I've also been getting these visions with them. Of Ice Cap. Or at least, I think it's Ice Cap. And it's like I'm looking through the eyes of something else. Like I'm watching something move through the zone through a monitor. And I see yellow numbers, and sounds that I swear I've heard before. Something of Eggman's."

By this time, Amy and Tails had started listening. They looked with concern.

Sonic said seriously, "What I'm saying is. When you get to Ice Cap, you might not be alone."

Knuckles only nodded. "I will not let Eggman get the best of me again. You can count on that." 

 

Movement from above alerted Mighty.

Eagerly, he straightened from where he lay on the hard, turquoise tiles. From the floor above, he saw two figures descending towards him--Knuckles and Tails. The guardian glided while the little fox used his tails to float down. 

Mighty got up, happily, and waved. “Hi! It’s me! So it went well, I sup-” He stopped. “Oh. Where are Sonic and Amy? Already watching the Super Emerald?” 

Knuckles nodded. “Your plan intrigues me. I'll take you to Ice Cap Zone. Let’s go."

 

They followed the guardian beneath the earth. He guided them down his network of tunnels towards their destination. Tails again turned on his flashlight. But he kept it pointed at the ground, by Knuckles' request. Within the darkness, the sounds of water could be clearly heard. The source, they knew, was Labyrinth Zone, pouring its water onto Lava Reef Zone from high above.

When the tunnel dipped downwards, a deep pool lay in their path. It was not still, but lapping at the edges as water leaked in from the outside.

Knuckles inspected the water briefly. Then, when he was about to jump in, Mighty interrupted.

“K-Knuckles! Wait. It will be too much for us.” He motioned to Tails, “Tails and I, we’re unfamiliar with your tunnels. And we can’t see as well as you down here.”

Knuckles looked surprised. But he nodded.

Instead, he backtracked. Until he found a connecting tunnel. This he led them down for some distance. But here too, water blocked the way.

Knuckles resorted to boring through the dirt. Several times he forced a way through, connecting them from one tunnel to the next. Until finally they reached a tunnel at a high enough elevation to avoid the flooding waters. 

They walked in darkness. And in silence.

Minutes passed. 

Without warning, Tails' communicator shrieked on his wrist. Everyone jumped. It was the unmistakable sound of the purple Super Emerald's power.

Amy’s crackly voice sounded amidst the noise, “Tails-”

“Ey Knuckles!” Sonic shouted. “Your emerald’s finally actin up. Here I go!”

Tails nodded. “Good luck, you guys.”

 

A slow, gradual chill crept into the air. Mist began forming from Knuckles’ nose as he walked. 

“We’re getting close, huh?” Tails asked with some enthusiasm.

Knuckles glanced down at him, then at the dirt above. “We’re below Ice Cap. The Death Egg landed deep in the zone, beyond the mountains. Passing under them will take time.”

Tails let out a sort of laugh. “I’m excited! Or, well, I’m kind of scared… to go in the Death Egg again. And see what’s in the computers. I’m excited too.”

Mighty interrupted, “Sorry, I need to stop.”

The two looked back.

The armadillo was shivering as he set his backpack down. “It’s cold! Aren’t you two cold?”

Tails shook his head. Knuckles only looked clueless.

Once Mighty was bundled up in a sweater, they continued on. And the air only grew colder. It seemed not enough to bother Knuckles or Tails. Although, Knuckles did rub his arms now and then. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Tails caught a glowing speck of orange. Against the wall was a small cube, partially buried in the dirt, that emitted a gentle light. 

“Knuckles…”

The guardian saw it too. And down further, the tunnel appeared lined with more of these cubes. Some sat alone, and some clustered together to create big, irregular shapes. They could almost be mistaken for crystal formations, if the three weren’t painfully aware of unusual events spreading across the zones. 

“How pretty,” Mighty commented softly. “But… is this normal?”

“No,” was Knuckles’ simple reply. He started walking again.

Tails leaned in, to get a closer look at one of the cubes.

“Come now, Little Tails,” Mighty told him.

Reluctantly, Tails followed.

A few minutes later, the communicator sounded, with Amy’s voice, “-only supposed to use it for important things!”

Sonic’s voice followed, “I wanna say hi to my friends! What’s more important than that?”

Amy laughed. “Sonic!”

“Hellooo everybody~!” Sonic announced to them. “You guys turned into popsicles yet?”

Tails laughed. “No. We’re not there yet, Sonic!”

“Hey, stop being slow pokes! You know how hard me n Amy are working here?”

Knuckles cut in, “You should be.”

“Well, we are,” Sonic replied.

Mighty covered his mouth to hide a smile.

Amy was saying something, but she sounded too far away to hear. The others waited for one of the two hedgehogs to say something more, but nothing else came. 

Tails let go of the button.

“Say,” Sonic piped in again. “You there, Knuckles?”

“Of course,” Knuckles answered.

“I got somethin to tell ya," Sonic said rather casually. "In our world, we got things called doors.”

“I know doors.”

“Yeah but you've lived all alone,” Sonic pointed out. “Do ya know you gotta knock on em?”

Knuckles looked skeptical. He sidestepped between two orange shapes. “…For what reason?”

Sonic answered, “For the person on the other side to say ‘Who’s there?’ And you go ‘Knuckles.’ And they go ‘Ohhhhhh my man Knuckles?? Come on in!’”

Knuckles looked at Mighty and Tails, as if to check if this were true. Both nodded.

Amy spoke, “Knuckles doesn’t know knocking?”

The grin could be heard in Sonic's voice, “No, but I'm gonna teach him! Okay, so Knuckles. Knock knock.”

“What?” Knuckles asked in confusion.

Mighty whispered under his breath, “Oh dear…”

“C'mon, Knuckles, we’re practicing! Knock knock!”

Amy giggled. Tails smiled too.

Knuckles side-eyed the others in their strange behavior. “…Who are you.”

“Banana,” Sonic answered. Then he eagerly added, “Now say ‘banana who’.”

Mighty interrupted, “He doesn’t know what bananas are.”

Tails gasped like it was the most scandalous thing he'd ever heard. “Knuckles!! You should have a banana!!”

“What’s a banana?” Knuckles asked.

“It’s a really good fruit!” Tails exclaimed. He lifted his arm and mimed holding a banana. “You hold it like this, and peel it.”

Knuckles looked intrigued as Tails pretended to eat his pretend banana.

There was a pause. Then Sonic spoke again. “…Okay Mighty. Does he know the end fruit?”

“Uhhh,” Mighty considered. Then he nodded. “Yes.”

“Yes!" Sonic said under his breath. "Okay, Knuckles, knock knock."

Knuckles frowned. “I don’t understand this.”

“Who’s there?” Amy answered for him.

“Grape.”

“Grape who?”

“Knock knock.”

“Who’s there?”

"Grape."

"Grape who?"

"Knock knock."

"Who's there!"

"Grape."

"Grape WHO?"

"Knock knock."

"Who's there?"

“Orange.”

“Orange who?”

“ORANGE ya glad I didn’t say grape?”

Mighty and Tails immediately swiveled their heads towards Knuckles. 

At first, he wore the same perplexed expression as when this all began. But soon, Mighty and Tails saw it change. He understood. Knuckles let out a sound through his teeth, then bursted out laughing. He laughed and laughed, much longer than anyone expected. His joy went on so long that it spread contagiously to everyone else.

“Okay okay, here’s another,” Sonic said between laughs. “Back when I first met Knuckles, I wondered why his fist was getting bigger and bigger. ...Then it hit me.”

Mighty shook his head. But Knuckles guffawed enthusiastically along with the two children.

Then Tails squeaked as Knuckles grabbed his arm, and talked directly into the communicator, “Because I punched you!! AHAHAHA!! Tell me more of these!”

“Ah, can’t,” Sonic responded. “Super Emerald’s actin up again. Be back.”

The energy inside the tunnel remained high. Everyone was smiling. Knuckles continued laughing to himself, and repeated the two punchlines, as they walked. 

Tails hesitated. Then he went to Knuckles’ side. “Um… hey Knuckles? I have a joke.” 

“What’s a joke?” 

Tails beamed bright. “It’s those things Sonic was just telling you!” 

Knuckles beamed back. “Tell me more jokes!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you had fun reading! 
> 
> Please look forward to the next chapters. THEY ARE MY FAVORITES!
> 
> [Chapter 21 Notes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pakr-CpWqsnK_FsW-AQvLl1VEjd0z06KzJrlgW73uo8/edit?usp=sharing)  
> (Just press back to return to this page)


	22. Chapter 22

Knuckles broke through the dirt. Cold, biting wind howled in against him. It swept into the tunnel. Mighty and Tails recoiled, but Knuckles continued digging. Through dirt and through snow, until the hole in the ceiling was large enough to climb through.

They struggled up onto the surface. Onto deep snow. Veils of fog thrashed the air. Blown in thick, whirling shapes. Offering only fleeting glimpses of the surroundings. The constant roar in their ears drowned Ice Cap’s melody, except for its heavy bassline, which permeated the zone like a heartbeat.

All three had already put on warmer clothing while inside the tunnel. Each wore boots and heavy gloves. Knuckles wore a yellow jacket. Mighty, a black sweater and ear muffs. And Tails wore only a purple scarf. 

They fought against the freezing winds, towards a dark, towering rock. Once there, they huddled together for welcome shelter. 

Mighty rubbed his arms. “S-sure is cold!” 

“I’m not!” Tails declared. His fur looked much fluffier than usual.

Knuckles didn’t look at them. He was trying to see past the whirls of white. No luck. With no sense of where the Death Egg may be, he had only the island animals’ eyewitness accounts, and his own intuition, to guide him.

Knuckles started a direction. 

Mighty and Tails followed.

Winds battered against them. Whipping this way and that. Tails and Mighty kept their heads to the ground, and stepped into the deep footprints left behind by Knuckles to ease the trek through the snow. 

A fierce gale collided against Knuckles’ body, and forced him to stop. He shielded his face. The wind was roaring.

Through the noise, Knuckles thought he heard a faint shout from behind. He turned. There he saw a faded indication of Tails. He was stopped beside the equally faded form of another enormous, black rock. 

“Tails?” he shouted over the wind.

“This- Look!” Tails pointed to the rock. “The Death Egg!” He took a step back as the other two hurried over. “It’s a piece of the Death Egg. All of these rocks, they're actually pieces of it.”

Knuckles and Mighty watched while Tails scanned the metallic surface. Sections of it were darkened with scorch marks.

“...These are all the outer walls…” Tails observed. “We have to find where the inner parts fell. That’s where the computers will be.”

Knuckles nodded. “We’re on the right track. Let’s go.”

They plodded on.

Gradually, the winds died down. The air grew calm and peaceful.

The dying winds allowed a fog to settle around them. And slowly, the color of the fog began to warm. Pure white turned to soft pinks and oranges. Fluffy shapes floated by, dreamily, as the three walked. Tails reached out his hand and watched his fingers drift slowly through the warm cloudscape. 

Knuckles glanced around. “That’s strange.”

“It’s like we’re in the clouds, at sunset,” Mighty admired, hesitantly.

No one commented on the fact that Ice Cap was a day zone. By now, they were prepared for any zone to be affected by the zonal disturbances.

Their path began running downhill. The fog grew thinner the further they descended. 

They felt the heartbeat of Ice Cap Zone quickening. Its beautiful, shimmering notes were weighted down by a melody that was snaking and warbling. A shared dread rose amongst the three as the surroundings slowly crawled from behind the fog. Surroundings that didn’t belong to this zone.

Dark, vague columns melted slowly downwards. The smell was thick and unnatural. Scattered, fiery oranges pierced the fog. 

The last cloud wafted away to reveal a snowy mountain range hanging diagonally across the sky. Their peaks pointed towards the ground. Below them, rivers of oil slithered over the snow--thick, viscous, and black. They were fed by oil flows oozing down from thin air, or bubbling up from the ground. Elsewhere, cubes of orange light radiated in nonsensical places. It looked as if holes were punched into the zone itself, allowing sunshine to flood in from behind.

Amid the dismal scenery lay a metallic junkyard. Enormous spires of twisted Death Egg debri. 

Knuckles stared with more shock than anyone else. “...What is this…”

Solemnly Tails answered. “It’s from my island. It’s called Oil Ocean Zone.”

 

Knuckles glided from behind as Tails carried Mighty over a river of oil. The black fluid was coagulated by the cold temperatures, moving like a thick, gummy slush. With strain, the little fox dropped Mighty on the other side, and landed clumsily.

Mighty caught himself in the snow, then looked up. “Little Tails? Are you alright?”

Tails nodded.

“You’re getting tired,” Knuckles observed. “Let me throw Mighty across from now on.”

The three made their way to each piece of Death Egg, one by one. Tails checked them for signs of survival. Most were so damaged by the initial explosion and subsequent fire that there was no chance of viable technology onboard. Others fell victim later. Consumed by oil. Outside surfaces were gunked over, with oil oozing out from exposed holes and crevices.

Having never witnessed oil before, Knuckles started asking about the substance, and the zone it came from. Tails gave most of the answers. Eventually the conversation shifted to what Tails had discovered about codes and merging zones, since Knuckles hadn’t been told those details yet either. Lastly, Tails caught Mighty up on the discussion that had taken place in Hidden Palace--including Knuckles’ confirmation that the Chaos Emerald was inside Sonic. 

“What?? You mean the entire time-” Mighty reacted incredulously. Then he stopped himself, and eased his voice. “That’s- that’s an important thing to keep from someone. Why didn’t you tell him?”

“There’s no great reason,” Knuckles answered indifferently. “It wouldn’t have solved anything for him to know. Even now there’s nothing he can do.”

Mighty looked crestfallen at his words. “...He went through a lot trying to figure that out.”

Knuckles didn’t answer.

Tails hesitated. “But… eventually, Sonic will have to do something, r-right?”

They both looked at him.

“...I mean, because…” Tails trailed off, as if waiting for them to realize it themselves. “This is all because of the purple Chaos Emerald- or Super Emerald, or. And Sonic’s connected to it, or them. Even if I can fix zones, won’t he still be like that…?”

Slowly Mighty nodded in understanding. 

Knuckles ducked beneath a floating oil flow and continued on.

Mighty followed. “...He has a good intuition about the emeralds. Sonic I mean.” He sped up to walk in stride with the echidna. “You could work together with him. Like... See, he spoke of these visions of, of numbers, changing numbers. Something like that. He says it seems like something of Eggman’s. It may be some sort of sign.”

Knuckles looked over, “He's already told me of that.”

Mighty sighed. “That’s not the point I’m trying to make.”

“I am the guardian,” Knuckles affirmed. “And some things you don’t need to know or worry about. As it is, I have only agreed to this because-”

Mighty planted his feet. “Are you really guarding us, by treating us as children? Keeping everything unknown to us? We are people, just like you. We want to fight for our world, just like you!”

Knuckles kept walking, for only a few steps. Then he came to a stop as well.

“...I don’t mean to argue,” Mighty clarified gently. “I just, don’t agree with that view. There are others that share your world. It’s not only you.”

Tails took a timid step back. His foot touched an exposed wire. Electricity jolted up his leg and sent him to the ground.

“Tails!" Mighty exclaimed. "A-are you okay??”

He and Knuckles knelt beside the fallen fox. Minor singe marks were visible on his fur.

“Ugn…” Tails lifted his head from the snow. “That felt all... buzzy and burny but… P-power, you guys.”

“What?”

“It’s power.” Tails sat up.

They watched the little fox take a few disorientated looks around.

"That wire got me... So one of these pieces, has to still have electricity..."

Mighty put a hand on Tails' shoulder. "We understand, but maybe you shou-"

"There- that one!" Tails declared. He whirled his tails and headed for the closest Death Egg piece.

Knuckles and Mighty looked at one other with brief concern, then followed.

 

Inside was dark. Cold. Eerily quiet.

Their footsteps patted against metal. 

Broken technology laid deserted inside the once high-tech, behemoth of a vessel. There was no light to be had. Except the dull glow created by countless tiny yellow lights along the walls. They blinked with ghostly delay. Live wires, exposed by blast holes in the ceiling, floor, and walls, sparked inside the corridor. 

Ominous humming pervaded the Death Egg. Slowly charging up as if to kick online. Only to power back down. It cycled this way, over and over. To Tails, it sounded like the vessel was breathing. Threatening to awake at any moment. And attack. He had to remind himself that technology wasn't alive.

The entire vessel was tilted sideways. This meant Knuckles, Tails, and Mighty traveled along the walls instead of the intended floor. As they walked, their shoes blackened the tiny lights on the walls, like stars swallowed by the night sky.

Now and then, they came upon long computer screens mounted flush to the wall, which was now their floor. Each broadcasted huge red letters that together spelled the message "DANGER.” Tails knelt beside one to try to access the network within. But all were merely transmitting from a source located elsewhere. 

They continued. The corridor gradually curved to the Death Egg's spherical shape. By walking along the wall instead of the intended floor, eventually the curve became too steep for them.

Knuckles went on ahead by climbing up the steep curve.

Mighty and Tails waited in the dark. After a few minutes, Knuckles waved them up. They followed using the fox’s flight.

The passage Knuckles had found seemed brighter than the rest of the vessel. Strong light shone in from the other end. They traveled towards it.

After ten or so feet, they reached the light, and the passageway opened up. They found themselves inside a huge, hollow area of the Death Egg piece. A ray of light poured in from the outside, through a blast hole in the massive, curving walls. Glittering flecks of snow illuminated the air along its path.

In front of them was a suspended walkway. A single wall lined one side, and a railing lined the other. Because everything was sideways, the three couldn't actually use the walkway. They had to walk along the railing. And beneath the railing was a very visible and very high drop down to the snow, where this piece had landed.

Knuckles and Tails stepped across the railing bars fairly confidently. But Mighty hugged the wall as close as he could.

A soft tone sounded from above. They all paused.

"Handprint identification please," a robotic voice requested.

They looked up. A set of double doors hung above them. They were closed tight. Mounted to the right was a small screen that glowed with the shape of a hand.

“Handprint identification please,” the screen requested again.

Tails jumped high in the air. “OHHH!! Access! We can get access to- whatever’s behind here!”

“Handprint identification please,” it repeated.

Tails and Mighty simultaneously realized that none of their handprints would match.

“Handprint identificatio-”

Glass shattered as Knuckles punched the screen in.

"Kn-Knuckles??" Mighty reacted.

Tails couldn't help the smile on his face. "Knuckles! Not like that!"

Unaware, the echidna nodded proudly. “We don’t have to follow its orders.”

His companions bursted into laughter.

The doors were still closed tight.

"I'll get us in," Mighty said cheerfully.

The other two watched as Mighty reached up and forced his fingers between the double doors. With a metallic crunch, he closed his fist. He pulled down and bent the door's edge towards them so that it no longer lined up with the other door. At that point, he used both hands to start rolling the door up like a sleeping bag until it was out of the way.

Tails peered up through the opening as Mighty worked. He gasped. “Yes! I see a computer!”

Tails and Knuckles pulled themselves up through the opening and climbed into a small, oval-shaped room. Above them was a control panel with buttons and switches of all kinds. Accompanying it was a large screen and a chair anchored to the ground.

Mighty looked in from the suspended walkway. “Sure looks complicated in there.” 

“This has GOT to be something!” Tails exclaimed at what looked like a keyboard.

Since the room was sideways, Tails had to climb onto the chair and stand on its back. He reached up and hit the enter key on the keyboard.

Nothing happened.

He hit a few more keys. Nothing.

“This is a screen,” Knuckles stated. 

Tails looked over at him.

“Eggman taught me what a screen is. But it’s not working.” 

Tails nodded. “Yeah…” 

Knuckles began looking around behind the screen.

This made Tails perk. “...Yeah. We might be able to fix it.”

Tails took his backpack off and dug around. A screwdriver slipped out. Tails shouted and grasped around as it tumbled off the chair. It fell right through the doorway, smacked Mighty’s shell, and flipped wildly towards the snow far below.

Mighty blinked. “Oh. Was that-...”

The little fox could feel his throat tighten. But he turned his attention back to the bag. There was another screwdriver inside. He pulled it out, looked at its head, then looked at the screws on the control panel. “...Yes! It matches!”

Knuckles watched curiously as Tails removed screws from a panel and set it aside. Inside were all kinds of wires, cords, and flashing lights. But they were all neatly arranged. Tails reached in and felt around.

A sound blipped. The screen flashed on with the same “DANGER” message as seen before.

“Ah, there,” Knuckles told Tails. 

Tails pulled himself out. “Just some of the plugs got loose!” 

After bypassing the danger message, a new screen flashed on. 

Tails groaned. “Awww man, a password…” 

Sure enough, the screen displayed “PASSWORD” in large letters, with a box for one to be inputted. Tails gave a couple attempts--first “Eggman” and then “Sonic.” Both times, the computer gave an error sound. 

Knuckles tilted his head at the screen curiously. “...What’s a password?” 

“It’s a special word only Eggman knows,” Tails explained. “The computer won’t let us see anything unless we give it the word.” 

“Then let’s destroy the computer.” 

“A-actually, the computer does more than ask for the password,” Tails clarified. “We need it to see Eggman’s information.” 

Mighty’s voice sounded from the doorway below them, “Try Death Egg.” 

Tails inputted it, but it didn’t work. 

“Uh, Eggman?” Mighty suggested.

“I tried that.” 

“What about… ...egg...” 

Tails laughed. But he tried anyway. It didn’t work. 

Mighty shook his fist. “Oh I wish that was it! What have you tried already again?” 

“Eggman, Sonic, Death Egg, and egg.” 

Mighty chuckled. “We’re creative…”

“Maybe Sonic will know,” Tails realized. He pressed the button on the communicator. “Amy, are you there?”

“Hi, Tails!”

“Hi! We’re trying to get into Eggman’s computer, but it needs a password. Do you guys have any ideas?”

“Here’s his password!” Amy proclaimed. “Meanie!”

Sonic chimed, “Loser~!”

Tails laughed. “Guys, for real!”

They made no progress. All kinds of words were entered, with all sorts of spellings and capitalizations. But the computer refused to grant them access.

Sitting still for so long made Mighty grow cold. He pulled a blanket from his backpack and wrapped up. Tails too met with difficulties. His arms felt sore from reaching up at the keyboard, and his neck was so stiff from keeping it craned towards the screen. Momentarily, he considered turning back to search for a different computer. But he realized they would only be met with the same password screen.

The little fox stepped off the chair, slid back down through the double doors, and joined Mighty beneath the blanket. He quickly fell asleep.

Knuckles remained in the small room, contemplating the screen.

 

“Tails. Little Tails.”

Tails felt something shake his body.

“It’s letting us see.” 

Tails opened his eyes. Mighty was looking down at him. The armadillo moved aside to reveal Knuckles, also looking down at him, from the doorway to the small room. 

“I told the computer a word,” Knuckles told him. 

Tails blinked in a daze. But looking past the echidna, he could see green color coming from the computer screen, along with a soft pattern of beeping. 

He gasped. Immediately he whirled his tails and flew into the room.

“It really is-! I can’t believe you did it!” Tails pressed the button on the communicator, “We got in! We’re in Eggman’s computer!”

Cheers from Sonic and Amy came through on the other end. Tails locked the button so they could speak to one another without keeping it pressed. Then he climbed excitedly back into the chair. “Knuckles! What did you put? What's the password afterall?” 

“I told it this,” Knuckles answered, while pressing individual keys. When he was done, written on the screen was a strange word. OjS3@d.

Tails tried to sound it out aloud, “Ojesthreeadd.” 

“...What does that mean?” Knuckles asked.

“Nothing... But I guess no one would guess it! How did you think of it??” 

“I remember these symbols,” Knuckles smiled. “Eggman often touched them before showing me his technology.” 

Tails smiled back. "Wow... Great job, Knuckles. I'm so glad you memorized it!"

The soft beeping continued. Tails realized that it was probably some sort of notification. He glanced around and noticed a message at the corner of the screen. It said “Incoming transmission.” He pressed it. 

The message expanded. Overlaid in red. Yellow numbers and graphs appeared and disappeared with split-second speed. A landscape was visible. Mossy ruins. As the surroundings panned by, Tails realized they were watching a video. The image of Knuckles focused at the center of the screen. Square lines outlined him, then the text “TARGET LOCKED” immediately appeared.

Tails watched projectiles fire towards the image of Knuckles. The echidna dodged.

“...Knuckles?” Mighty asked in alarm. “What is…?”

“That’s--the Sonic robot…” Knuckles answered, surprised at the images himself. “We’re seeing from behind its eyes.”

Tails asked, "Sonic robot? The same one that fought me and Sonic?"

A gasp from Amy could be heard. “A Sonic robot? You mean Metal?”

“Huh?? Metal's there?” Sonic’s voice came in.

Tails explained, “No, it's just a recording. Um, I don't know what the robot's called. But Sonic, it's the one that attacked us at Sky Sanctuary Zone.”

Knuckles added, “Eggman made it to look like you, but it was not a good trick.”

Explosion sounds came from the video. The picture cut off. The window went black and silent.

Knuckles looked oddly discontent.

“That’s the end of the transmission,” Tails said with a hint of sadness. “It must’ve been programmed to transmit to Eggman. It’s been waiting here all this time.”

“I’m glad you’re alriiiight,” Mighty remarked fearfully to Knuckles. “That looked scary.”

Knuckles peered at the keyboard, then the screen. “...Sky Sanctuary collapsed before I could make sure the robot was defeated. Can this tell us where it is?”

“Um…” Tails fiddled with some of the on-screen options. When he tried scrolling right, a profile of Mecha Sonic appeared, with information populating in quick little blips.

“What does it say?” Knuckles eagerly asked Tails. 

Tails started reading, “Target-...” He hesitated. “It says, Target: Destroy Knuckles the Echidna. ...And this section over here talks about Mecha Sonic’s specs.”

“My name?” 

Tails just looked at him blankly.

Knuckles repeated, “You said my name is written there?”

Tails nodded.

“Which word is my name?”

Tails pointed. Knuckles looked at it intently.

“That’s my name in your language… What about this?” Knuckles touched a rounded square on the screen. Entries popped up.

“Oh! Woah..." Tails reacted. "This... It looks like stuff that Eggman wrote." He scrolled aimlessly to get an idea of its length, until he spotted the words "West Side Island." His eyes scanned the paragraph. "Oh... Sonic, listen to this!"

"Yeah?"

"Eggman's entry, it says,

'Bah, I'm no longer interested in West Side Island! I have something much grander to pursue! You see, Sonic revealed an ability of great interest to me. Of course, he did it by rudely interrupting the first launch of my beautiful Death Egg. At first I was comforted by the fact that Sonic would burn up in the atmosphere as he fell back to the planet. But, to my great surprise, his entire body illuminated into a stupendous light! And he became invulnerable to the incredible forces of space. It was the power of the Chaos Emeralds! There is no other explanation. Sonic somehow harnessed that power for himself. This is it! The key to unlocking Chaos Emerald powers for my own bidding! I’ll take the data Sonic so generously provided me, and build him a friend to share this interesting ability of his.’”

"Build something?" Sonic repeated. "Wow... I had no idea that's what happened when Tails and I defeated Eggman back on West Side Island..."

Amy's awestruck voice came in, "Sonic... You can take in the power of the Chaos Emeralds?"

Knuckles nodded to Tails. "What else?"

Tails scrolled. “Um. Ummm... He's talking about different theories he has for duplicating what Sonic did... Oh, here's prototypes for a device to-" He kept scrolling. But he no longer read aloud. Then, he stopped. "Okay, listen to this one. It says,

‘My glorious creation is complete! I call him MECHA SONIC! Now, this is the pinnacle of my genius! (Besides my beautiful Death Egg, of course). Creating a machine that can handle the energy created by a Chaos Emerald is quite a feat, but a design that can absorb and store that energy for later use? Just proof of my status as the greatest scientific mind the world has ever seen! I theorize, with his current components, that Mecha Sonic can only maintain a Chaos Emerald-powered form for five minutes at a time. I can only do so much without access to the intended power source. Once I find an emerald for Mecha Sonic, I’ll test him on that useless echidna, and refine my design. It's obvious he has no clue about the location of the legendary powers resting here on Angel Island. And after all the time wasted gaining his trust.’”

Mighty grumbled, “Why is Eggman like this…”

“Eggman acted kind to me,” Knuckles murmured with eyes gazing up at the foreign, glowing letters on the screen. “He knew of my people, and shared with me that knowledge. He helped decipher some of my island’s relics. He taught me his technology…”

“He’s really mean,” Tails told him, in comfort. “He tricked you and he didn’t care… He’s just always really mean, Knuckles.”

Knuckles turned to Tails. “...What else is there?”

“O-oh, um. Let me start a file transfer to my data drive first.” He took the data drive from his bag and inserted it into a slot in the control panel. “Okay! We can keep looking at things while it copies over.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had so much fun with this one!! See you next time!
> 
> [Chapter 22 Notes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1I4NxwlbmJGk31x5IHSDa4rNZckHbQ0kZG2udWZVLTVQ/edit?usp=sharing)  
> (Just press back to return to this page)


	23. Chapter 23

Ancient strokes of a paintbrush created lines that curved, lapped over, and connected into one another. Together they formed a bold, mystical illustration of large a ring, with wings that spread radiantly out on either side.

Amy sat up straighter. Her knees felt cool upon the tile of the Emerald Altar, where she knelt. Lined up in front of her were the cards revealed from Sonic's previous tarot reading. At least, the ones that had survived Aquatic Ruin Zone. Only three besides the winged ring card remained--the Gemstone, the Two of Cups, and the Tower. 

A fleck of light swept over the cards. Amy raised her head to see one of the Super Emeralds beside her. Each of its facets a varying depth of orange. They took turns, in sequence, glimmering to a reflective white, then returning back to mesmerizing hues--brilliant honey oranges, fiery mid-oranges, and deep, inky red-oranges. They swirled and shimmered against one another inside the gem.

Her eyes wandered back down again. And met with one of her cards. The Gemstone. Its illustration, a large jewel resting upon an elaborate pedestal. Amy laid her fingers upon it, and attentively, picked it up from the ground. Slowly she held it in the air so that from her perspective, the card was side-by-side with the Master Emerald that sat mightily upon its crystal pedestal. She felt wistful wonder at their similarity.

Sonic’s voice remarked, “Tails forgot to turn his off, huh.”

Amy turned her head. Sonic was lying on his side in front of the purple Super Emerald. It took her a moment to realize what he meant. She had forgotten the voices of Tails, Knuckles, and Mighty periodically transmitting from the communicator wrapped around her wrist.

Amy nodded. “It’s nice to know they’re doing okay.” 

“Hmph. Yeah,” Sonic answered with a smile.

Amy smiled to herself too. She set the card back down to the tile, with the others.

"...What did Knuckles mean, anyway?" Sonic asked aloud. "About that 'hearer of magic' thing he said to you?"

Amy looked up again, with a mix of elation and apprehension. "It's because... what's in here. Can you hear them?"

Sonic noticed her look around at the powerful gems around them.

"It's the Super Emeralds," she said.

Sonic looked up.

“...If you listen,” Amy explained quietly, “the Super Emeralds all make really deep sounds. But they each make a different one… It’s like they’re making a song together. And they all have their own voices.”

"Hmmm," Sonic mulled. He shifted into a sitting position and perked his ears to the sounds of the room.

"...Sonic," Amy began.

He looked at her.

"I keep thinking about your tarot reading. For a long time. And- I tried, really, to think of everything I know. But I'm not sure if I can see the true message..."

"That's alright," Sonic said with understanding. "I'm sure it's not easy."

Her eyes were down. Not in sadness. But in hesitation. "...You know," Amy lifted her head, "I was able to see your last card. The one saying what would get in your way. Just for a tiny second, before it got all glitched. And what I saw, was the Eight of Swords."

By the tone of her voice, Sonic realized this was significant to her. "Yeah?"

"It means... being trapped. Or helpless, or powerless. Or alone."

Sonic chuckled. "...Really now? Well. Feel a little bit of that right now."

Amy gaped. "Sonic?! You do??"

He laughed and waved both hands frantically, "Well, n-not the alone part! I got you, right? And the others. We're all working together."

Amy's eyes were sincere. "...But yes to the other parts?"

Sonic casually leaned back against the purple Super Emerald. "Well yeah! I mean, I'm basically the cause of this whole mess, right? With the emerald stuck in me. And still... there's nothing I can do about it." 

"Oh..." she said, almost inaudibly. There was a pause. Until Amy looked up again. "Sonic, the thing is. The feelings shown in the Eight of Hearts. Usually, the card means, they're only in the mind. Like, the feeling is real, but you can set yourself free at anytime."

Sonic was smiling, and gazing up at the deep blue walls around them. "...Sounds about right."

Amy's mouth fidgeted. She seemed unsatisfied with something. "...Sonic, can you listen?"

"Sure," he answered gently.

"Even though the Eight of Hearts seems like it can match you... I don't know why, but... I can't help feeling that, the Eight of Hearts isn't actually about you."

Sonic looked surprised.

Amy's eyes swept over to the purple Super Emerald behind him. "...It's... Something's telling me... that it's about the emerald... The purple one. I know it's been acting scary but..." She set a palm gingerly next to her cards. 

Sonic only waited to hear the rest of her thoughts.

"The emeralds, they're supposed to keep balance in the world, right? They don't want to hurt it. ...Right?" Amy looked meaningfully over at Sonic and placed her hand over her chest as she spoke, "But the purple Chaos Emerald... it's trapped inside you. And it can't talk to us, or do anything. It can't even ask for help. Maybe it feels scared and alone, too." She sighed softly. "I don't know... Sonic, do you think the emeralds have feelings too?"

"I don't know," he answered genuinely.

With a hint of frustration, Amy stood to her feet. "Your reading seems, just, all too much simple, if it's about you. Even if you ever do feel powerless sometimes, you'd never let that get in your way! So how can the Eight of Swords be about you? And the Two of Pentacles? It's saying the Chaos Emerald will be found in something blue. But you already knew it was in you! It's so easy if the cards are saying it'll be found in you."

Sonic shrugged and said questioningly, "But it is in me."

"But what if it's not just in you?" Amy passionately countered. "What if there's something else too? Something else that's blue? And what about the Two of Pentacles, and Two of Cups, that tell finding the Chaos Emerald has to do with two things?"

Sonic got up and started walking over to her.

Amy only watched at first. And when he reached her, she asked, in a quieter tone, "And what about your visions?"

Sonic kneeled, and set his hand on her shoulder. "I don't know, Amy. ...I know it's hard when you don't know what to do. When ya can't figure out a way to help."

Amy looked away in a slight, resenting glower.

He gave her a smile. "We're the same, ya know. Can't stop, until something's taken care of, all the way through. It's just something we gotta do."

Amy's brow softened. Then her body relaxed. She smiled and looked back up at him with bright eyes. She nodded. 

Sonic kept smiling down at her as he stood back up to his feet. But then, with a short glance around, he sighed, "As much as I hate it, we gotta sit around here and let other people take care of things before we can get any farther."

"Sonic!" Amy scolded. "But we're NOT just sitting around! We're protecting these amazing, legendary emeralds!"

"I know, I know," Sonic replied, unconvincingly.

As his words tapered off, the air seemed to grow still. Ominously still.

Amy turned her head one way, then the other. Her ears were searching for white noise that seemed to have disappeared. She looked alert at Sonic. “Do you hear that too?”

Sonic nodded.

She already began jogging out. “I’ll go look!”

In the next room, Amy's rapid footsteps echoed on the walls. She looked this way and that, getting a glance of the hanging mosaics, but nothing was amiss. So she continued on. She passed by Eggman’s projector and exited through the image of the column it created.

Outside, everything seemed fine too. But Amy knew something was missing. She headed past the teleporter and towards the bridge--the one Mighty couldn't reach due to the great height between it and the floor below.

As Amy slowed to walk to the middle of the bridge, her eyes were stunned at the sight of water. The floor below was covered in five feet of it. That meant the water level had risen three floors. And was still rising. Amy realized, the roaring waterfall that Tails had flown her onto was gone. It was submerged. And the stillness created by its absence is what alerted her and Sonic. 

She returned to the Emerald Altar with the news.

Sonic smiled regretfully. “Well. Looks like we got a time limit.”

 

Knuckles and Tails continued poring over data within the Death Egg computer. They scrolled through photographs of Angel Island, scans of ancient artifacts and artworks, each accompanied by notes and explanations by Eggman himself. Knuckles nodded along, familiar with what was on screen. That is, until a sand-colored carving appeared.

Knuckles stopped. He leaned forward in wonder. “Incredible… This must be carved inside one of the pyramids of Sandopolis. But I’ve never seen it before…”

Tails leaned forward too. But the seatbelt stopped him. He forgot he had strapped himself into the seat. With the room tilted as it was, the computer screen was still located above them, where a ceiling normally would be. Laying back against the seat made it easier to use the keyboard and prevent neck strain.

Tails answered, “All the notes say is ‘Chaos Rings?’”

“Chaos Rings…” Knuckles repeated, almost knowingly.

Sonic’s voice interrupted from the communicator, “Hey, how’s it goin there? Run into any trouble?"

Tails answered cheerfully, "Not yet, Sonic!"

"Alright. Keep an eye out. Remember something of Eggman's might be there."

"Okay," Tails nodded. "Most everything doesn't have electricity anymore though, so I think it's safe."

"Not to rush ya, but how are ya on finding what you need?" Sonic asked further. "Water’s getting higher here at the palace.” 

Knuckles and Tails were knocked out of their thirst for discovery, and realized they hadn’t made any progress on the task at hand. 

“How high?” Knuckles asked Sonic.

“Hm, abooout-”

Amy clarified, “The water's gotten to the floor right below us.”

Knuckles’ eyes were swiping back and forth as he contemplated options. “...There is no path for the water to escape the palace. If you must, take the secret passage below the altar. The teleporter there will take you to safety.”

“We'll never give up! We’re not scared!” came Amy’s brazen voice. "We're staying as long as we can."

Sonic quipped, “Still, ya know I hate swimming, Knuckles.”

“I did not know that,” Knuckles corrected. “I need to return to you as soon as possible. We’ll hurry.”

"I know!" Amy declared. "We can use that bubble shield we saw with all those item boxes!"

Sonic replied, "Good thinkin! You can nab it once the water's high enough to jump down."

Knuckles turned his attention to Tails. “We must somehow find information relevant to your invention. There’s much here I wish to look at, but…” 

Tails, who had been adjusting his data drive, now looked at Knuckles nervously. “I didn’t notice until now but, my drive… It’s already totally full.”

“What does that mean?”

Tails rubbed his arm. “We can’t put everything on the drive… I guess I didn’t realize how huge Eggman’s computers were going to be. So we have to find just the information we need and put that on the drive.”

Knuckles shook his head. “...We’ve spent much time already.”

Tails began clicking around. “Maybe if I can search the files, for keywords or, something…” 

Mighty piped up from below, “We would certainly be lost without you! I don’t even know what a file is.” 

This made Tails laugh.

Knuckles perked up. “Can you show me what you mean, Tails? I’d like to learn.” 

“Okay! We’ll be sure to-” 

Tails’ elbow touched a button. A series of lights along the control panel lit up. 

“Whoops.”

A loud tone blared.

Behind them, a new set of double-doors snapped shut. They were sealed inside the room. And Mighty sealed outside.

“System engaged,” notified an automated voice. “Taking evasive action.” 

The entire room ejected upwards.

Mighty, on the other side, fell back from the force of the launch. He watched as the room, with his friends inside, rushed upwards through a long metallic tunnel. Then it disappeared through a bright, circular opening to the snowy outside.

 

Knuckles smacked into a metal wall. Then slammed into another one. He reached out and clung to the next solid thing he could find. The room was soaring through the air, but also thrusting left and right at irregular intervals. 

Tails, strapped in the seat, frantically pushed at the buttons on the control panel to stop whatever was happening. But the panel he had removed earlier whacked him in the head. 

The entire room rolled. With a loud crash, the room lurched forward. The lights cut off. 

Tails pressed the pain in his head with both hands. Somewhere, it sounded like engines were powering down.

He waited for more to happen. But nothing did.

The room had come to a full stop.

It was pitch black. 

“Are you alright?” came Knuckles’ voice. 

“Yeah, I…” Tails stopped painfully. “I don’t know… Nn... Something hit me.” 

Footsteps tapped towards Tails. By the sound of them, the room was now right-side-up. He felt Knuckles touch the hand he had pressed to his temple. “Your eye looks swollen.” 

“...You can see?” Tails asked.

“Yes,” Knuckles answered. “What happened? This room moved somehow.” 

“Ugn, I don’t know…” Tails tried to look around. “It's so dark. I wish I could see like you.” 

He heard Knuckles’ footsteps again, this time moving towards the back of the room. “A different set of doors closed us in.” Knuckles grabbed a lever built into one of the doors and pulled. It opened, letting in blinding light. 

As it flooded in, Tails noticed one of his eyes was difficult to see from. The field of vision was smaller. He touched it. It felt swollen as Knuckles had said. 

Knuckles came back over. “We’re outside now, in the snow.” 

Tails paused, contemplating the situation. “The thing said… Hey, I think this might actually be…” He tried to lean forward, but the seatbelt was locked tight. He released it, and then slid off the chair. He scrutinized the control panel for a few minutes. Then he started pressing buttons.

Knuckles watched.

Small chimes and mechanical sounds activated in response. Tails gasped. He adjusted more buttons and levers. An engine kicked on.

Tails raised his arms, “It’s working! Knuckles!” He pulled on a joystick, and the whole room started to rise. “It is! It's an escape pod! We don’t have to use the drive! We can just fly this back to-” But the whole thing strained beneath them. Tails pulled harder, “Ngn, c’mon…” 

“It’s a flying machine?” 

Tails nodded. “But it’s not going… I think it’s stuck.” 

“I’ll check.”

 

Mighty stumbled across the suspended walkway. The launch tunnel above him was too smooth, too long to climb and pursue his friends. He rushed back into the hallway. The one they had used to get to this open space. Once there, he pulled back and punched into the dark, metallic wall. A huge chunk of metal ripped off and whammed to the ground.

Electric wires sparked from the newly created hole. Mighty pushed through.

He ran until he met more walls, which he tore through, just like the first.

One more wall. Mighty punched through. Biting cold air rushed on him. The outside. His heart jumped at the sheer height of the snow below him. He stood at least fifteen stories high on the side of the Death Egg piece.

He looked up. A trail of smoke arced from the Death Egg piece into the distance. It had to be from the escape pod. Where the trail ended, he couldn't tell. The view was blocked by other Death Egg pieces. And another sight troubled him--the snowy mountains in the sky seemed much closer than before. 

Mighty curled up. He rolled down the steep side of the Death Egg piece. After he landed in the snow, he rushed in the direction of the smoke.

 

Knuckles found the escape pod partially buried in the snow where it had impacted. He got to work digging it out. But almost immediately, he hit a hard surface.

He called back towards the pod, “Tails!”

The little fox’s head popped out from behind the door. 

“I can’t dig any further,” Knuckles told him. “Ice.” 

 

Mighty hollered out for Tails and Knuckles as he ran. Again and again. But nothing besides the strange, merging music of two zones could be heard.

After the fifth call, Knuckles voice called back. 

Mighty gasped in hope. “Knuckles! Are you two alright??” 

There was an answer. But it was too faint to understand. He kept running.

Then, from behind a Death Egg piece, a figure burst out. It was Tails. He almost collided right into Mighty mid-flight. By reflex, Mighty caught the fox from the air.

Tails laughed and stopped whirling his tails. “Hi Mighty!”

“You’re alright!” Mighty rejoiced. But then he frowned at Tails’ black eye. “Golly, your eye. Are you alright?” 

“I’m okay!” As Mighty set him down onto the snow, Tails balled his fists, “Mighty, the thing we were in, it’s an escape pod! We don't have to worry about putting data on my drive! We can just fly it back and study all the data! But it’s stuck in ice. Could you pull it out?”

 

After evaluating the size of the escape pod, and the angle at which it was stuck, Mighty took hold of its backside. He looked over at the other two. "You know, this IS ice. There might be more water beneath it..."

Tails nodded, and held up his backpack. "I already took all my stuff out just in case."

"Be careful," Knuckles told Mighty. "We'll help you if the ice breaks."

Their response to his caution only made Mighty feel more paranoid. But he tried not to think of the possibilities. Instead, he dug his fingers into the metal. Gradually he dragged the escape pod backwards over the ice.

Harsh scraping assaulted everyone's ears. 

Tails covered his, and also squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them back up, he saw Mighty had paused from the horrible sound. But then he continued. 

A cracking sound. Ice split at Mighty's feet. 

“Mighty, stop STOP!”

Mighty dropped the escape pod. He felt himself dropping too. Someone grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the fracturing ice. But the escape pod was abandoned. Its weight easily punctured through the weakened ice. It dumped into the icy water.

“No no no…” Tails fretted as Mighty pulled himself back up to his feet.

Mighty slumped. “Sorry…”

A few seconds was all it took for the escape pod to disappear beneath the water's dark surface.

Tails' lip twitched. He lowered his head to hide his welling eyes. "...it was my fault anyway..."

Mighty opened his mouth.

Knuckles spoke, "We tried. Let's take what's stored on the data drive and return to Sonic and Amy."

Mighty looked over at Tails. It didn't look like Tails was going to talk. So Mighty did. "...But. We're not sure, right? If it has the right information on it for Tails to make his device."

"That may be true. But we have no time. I must get back to the Emerald Altar and stop the flooding."

Mighty said, "Perhaps if Tails and I stay behi-"

Suddenly, Tails grabbed the sides of his head, “I-I didn’t grab the drive!!” 

"What??"

"The data drive is still in the control panel! Ah-! Oh no!"

Solid footsteps against the ice. They saw Knuckles' yellow jacket drop to the snow. For a split second the red of his fur could be seen, before a splash rang out. The echidna had dived into the water. The other two yelled. But he was gone.

Mighty rushed forward.

Tails cut in front of him. “Mighty, wait, no!”

The armadillo was snapped back to his senses. Both of them were panting in fright.

Tails turned around to look at the hole in the ice. The water was still rolling from the jump. The edges of the ice looked precarious and unstable. With his heart pounding, Tails took to flight. He hovered directly over the hole. His eyes searched the deep, inky blue water. For a sign of anything. But it was impenetrable. 

Mighty slid his hands over his mouth.

Tails kept hovering. Pain started building his tails. 

A warm color rippled beneath the surface. Tails gasped. 

With a weak stroke of his arm, Knuckles emerged from the water. Barely. 

Tails rushed in and grabbed Knuckles' arm. Desperately, with his last bit of energy, he dragged him from the water, and back over the broken ice. Mighty grabbed Tails' torso. A strong tug, and they were both pulled a safe distance from the hole.

Mighty let go and frantically knelt beside Knuckles. Tails bent over and panted.

“I’m fine,” Knuckles barely uttered. 

Mighty removed his own sweater and pulled it over Knuckles as best he could. Tails realized the scarf around his neck. He handed it to Mighty, who wrapped it around Knuckles as well.

Knuckles was just shivering. “Thank you.” 

Mighty held him close for warmth. “Why, WHY would you do that!” 

Tails had left, and came back with the jacket that Knuckles had discarded. This Mighty put on Knuckles as well.

Shakily, Knuckles held out his hand. Between his fingers was the data drive. “Tails.”

Tails took it. He just looked down at Knuckles, beyond belief. 

Mighty said, seriously, "We need to get back to one of the Death Egg pieces, and make a fire."

Tears began welling in Tails' eyes again.

"It's alright," Mighty told him soothingly. "We'll all be okay. But we need to hurry."

Mighty looked ahead to find the closest shelter. But his eyes were drawn upwards. The snowy mountains in the sky were approaching, ever closer. Like jagged teeth threatening to close in on them.

He looked up at them with uncertainty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's Chapter 23! I hope you'll check by next week to see what happens next!
> 
> [Chapter 23 Notes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tURIKysAo4OKxu-rWqzu8DoJ9NAaZGQxRESmW8ueW0U/edit?usp=sharing)  
> (Just press back to return to this page)


	24. Chapter 24

Amy squinted through the gleaming light. Reflections squirmed over the slick surface of the bubble shield that protected her.

Past bolts of electric energy, she focused on an obscured view of Sonic. He nodded to her. Then, his whole body became almost unseeable against the blinding light. His hands pressed through turbulent energy, and down upon the erroring Super Emerald.

Sonic was placed onto orange checkerboard.

He took off into the Special Stage. Sprinting straight lines, skidding corners. Sonic pushed himself to clear it as fast as possible. Because, the longer it took to retrieve the purple Chaos Emerald, the longer the zones would be exposed to the full brunt of the glitching.

He dashed through a small corridor of bumper spheres. The whole stage flickered white. Once, twice.

Then everything disappeared.

Sonic skidded. 

Before he could react more, it all returned. The same orange checkerboard lined the ground. But the blue spheres he had collected were now replenished.

Sonic sped off once more, hoping to complete the stage before it again reset. But a jolt of purple seared across his mind. It gave way to a cloak of red. The color of his strange vision. He watched a snowy landscape pan in front of him. Big, dark, metallic shapes jutted from the snow. Mountains floated upside-down in the sky. Numbers cycled faster than he could read.

Amy watched a distance away from the Super Emerald. Sonic was standing in the middle of its storming power. She waited for him to finish connecting the purple Chaos Emerald back to its Super Emerald.

She waited.

And waited.

Cold shocked her feet. Amy made a distressed sound as water seeped into her shoes. Down on the floor, a thin layer of water spread over the turquoise tiles. She turned to see it flowing freely in from the doorway.

 

The fire was calm, and crackling warm. 

Slowly Knuckles lifted his eyelids. He watched the flames gently flicker in a nest of branches. 

Tucked beneath a blanket, the steady sensation of warmth permeated Knuckles' body. He felt exhausted. But warm. He had already tried to convince Mighty that he was recovered enough to set out. But the armadillo refused they move until they had something to eat. All three were settled around the fire, warming themselves, and their food.

Continuous heat radiated the small, metallic room. Mighty had created it by shoving two smaller, curved pieces of Death Egg against one another. The walls overlapped tightly on one end, while on the other, the overlap was about two feet apart, creating a narrow entrance and exit. The combined pieces also created a small gap in the roof for smoke to escape.

Tails picked up a sandwich laying at the base of the fire. It was soft and warm. He was about to take a bite, when he stopped. Instead he looked over at Knuckles. "Here," he said with a smile as he handed the sandwich to him.

The echidna inspected it for a bit. Then he took a bite. His eyes lit up with delight. “...What is this?”

“Peanut butter and jelly,” Tails answered as he took a sandwich for himself.

Knuckles began eating with huge, eager bites. 

Mighty laughed with relief. “You’re looking vigorous!” 

The other two joined in eating. They remained mostly quiet as Knuckles made poor attempts at joke-telling. Only after the third joke did he realize that the smiles of the other two were weak, and sad. 

Knuckles blinked with concern. “Why are you not happy?”

Both of them looked at him, somewhat speechless. 

Mighty hesitated. “Well… we... didn’t do too well, Knuckles.” 

"What do you mean?"

Mighty glanced solemnly over at Tails, who still had a black eye. But seeing his head down, Mighty sighed softly. “Well…”

“I messed up so much..." Tails murmured. "My data drive wasn't big enough... A-and then, I wasted so much time looking at information we didn't even need. And THEN I made the escape pod crash into the ice... I even forgot the data drive, and you had to jump into the water…” 

Knuckles tilted his head. “We got it back. Does it matter how?” 

“But Knuckles!” Tails interjected. “You could’ve gotten- … really hurt.” 

“Many things could’ve happened. Let’s not regret,” Knuckles answered with a gentle nod of his head. “And if the information on the data drive turns out not what you need, can’t you just return for more? You have my tunnels. And Mighty will have memorized this location in Ice Cap. He has a good sense of direction.”

Mighty looked over at Knuckles with a half-lidded kind of glare.

Knuckles was off-put, and didn't know how to react. 

Mighty closed his eyes impatiently. “If we can return anytime... why did you go- just- jumping into icy death water??"

Knuckles looked a little stumped himself, and blushed. “Well… I... wasn’t thinking that way in the moment.”

“Then don’t speak as if it’s an obvious... thing!” Mighty argued with exasperation.

Tails, with a mouth full of food, smiled in agreement.

Knuckles laughed bashfully. “Alright. You’re right. What’s important is we can return to Sonic and Amy, and continue as we should.” 

Mighty added, “Once you’re warmed up.” 

“I’m warm now.” 

“No!” Mighty chided playfully.

But Knuckles remained serious. “I won’t leave them at the Emerald Altar longer than necessary. That is not their weight to carry. Especially not with the flooding waters threatening their safety.”

A more serious Mighty answered, despondently, "You're right..."

Suddenly, Tails sat up straight, as if realizing something. He looked down at the communicator on his wrist.

Mighty sighed. “At any rate, about coming back… I’m afraid that may not be. You’ve seen the mountains?” He shook his head. “...I think we only have another hour until they reach the ground. We should leave Ice Cap as soon a-”

“AH!” Tails yelled, startling them both. “The communicator’s off! It must’ve gotten jolted when we- when we crashed.” He turned a switch. “Ah, A-Amy, are you there? My communicator-” 

“Tails!! Where have you been??” came Amy's voice.

“Sor-” 

“I’ve been trying so much to tell you what’s happening!” Her words were desperate, and partially drowned by interference from the glitching Super Emerald. “The water's here at the altar now. And Sonic hasn't come back from the Special Stage! He went there so long ago.”

Mighty and Tails looked to Knuckles in alarm.

Knuckles visibly grimmed. “...We’re coming. Now.”

Mighty turned and began grabbing things to pack his bag.

“Mighty, I have an idea,” Tails said quickly. 

Mighty stopped.

“I think- Let’s look for another escape pod.”

"Little Tails, we haven't the time."

Knuckles agreed, "That will take too long."

Mighty said, "I know you want to be able to access Eggman's computer, but-"

Tails stood up, and countered, “It's not just that. E-even if it takes us a few minutes to find, won't it be a way faster way to get back to Hidden Palace? Instead of walking in those tunnels, we can fly. The escape pods even have their own independent power source, so all we have to do is find one.”

Slowly Mighty nodded. “...I agree with you.”

They started forward. Knuckles started getting up too.

Mighty raised both hands. “N-not you, Knuckles. Stay and finish eating.”

“Yeah, stay, Knuckles!” Tails repeated.

 

Computerized beeps. An empty yellow square tracked instantaneously across a snow field. It fixed atop a dark shape and zoomed in. Sonic watched words type across the screen.

[ IDENTIFIED: KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA. TARGET LOCKED ] 

Then the vision vanished.

Bright white materialized around him. Featureless and endless. 

Orange flickered. The Special Stage emerged back into place. For the tenth time, the stage had reset itself. But Sonic started forward again. He refused to give up.

 

Knuckles nodded off beside the fire. His mind churned with the urgency of Hidden Palace’s current state. But exhaustion forced him back into bouts of sleep. 

After a foggy amount of time, his ears urged him back awake. Outside, the sound of an engine, and something landing down into the snow. He realized Tails and Mighty must've succeeded in retrieving a new escape pod. Tiredly, Knuckles moved the blanket aside. He started putting his shoes on to meet them.

A pinging noise rose outside. 

Knuckles recognized it.

An Egg Robo laser gun.

Adrenaline surged through his body.

A white hot laser blasted in. It hissed past Knuckles. The beam deflected again and again inside the room. Knuckles lunged away each time. It took almost all his energy to avoid getting hit, in his weakened state.

Finally, the beam petered out.

Knuckles stumbled to his feet.

Smoke. It rose from the damaged walls and made it hard to see. Knuckles' eyes darted left to right. He saw no sign of his attacker.

Then, he heard it. Something solid and metallic scraped its way through the narrow entrance. Pointed spines flared over a dark silhouette. A single, glowing red eye penetrated through the smoke. 

It was Mecha Sonic.

Eggman's invention. Battered from its previous battles with Sonic and Knuckles. But still very much alive. And still following its last command--to locate and destroy the Guardian of Angel Island.

Knuckles stared in shock.

Its single red eye focused onto him.

 

Water lapped at Amy’s knees.

The flow was relentless. It gushed through the doorway like a river. Surged against the solid forms of the Super Emeralds. Distorted the decorative tiles beneath its depth.

Amy looked desperately at Sonic, who stood unchanged in front of the purple Super Emerald.

With purposeful steps, Amy drew herself closer. Bolts of energy discharged from the powerful gem. They were blinding. Winds battered against her. But she kept going. Until she was right beside him. She held onto Sonic, and stayed close, to share the protective power of her bubble shield with him.

 

More laser blasts rocked the makeshift shelter. Knuckles latched onto a wall, climbed, struggled through smoke. His hand grasped an open ledge. Biting cold air. He forced himself through the roof's gap to the outside.

There, from the top of the shelter, he took a leap and glided into the air to escape the attack.

The hiss of another laser.

Something bit into his arm. Razor hot.

Knuckles clutched his arm and fell into the snow.

Behind, his mechanical pursuer hovered in the air using its fiery turbine. It lowered the Egg Robo laser gun in its hand. Purple voltage zapped around its entire frame. Pixelated colors writhed over its metallic surface.

Knuckles heard Mecha Sonic's engine ramp up. It was coming for him. On shaky legs, Knuckles swung around and punched. But Mecha Sonic caught his arm. It threw him to the ground.

Knuckles felt himself hit the snow.

He also felt a buzzing sensation. It was tingling over his arm. He looked. His arm was swarming with pixels. 

Mecha Sonic’s shrill engine pierced the air.

Knuckles struggled to get up. 

A deeper engine roared over his head. At full speed, an escape pod charged in. Its nose rammed into Mecha Sonic. The robot was sent flying. 

Knuckles spun his head to see what had happened. There he saw an escape pod hovering just a few feet above the snow.

Mighty rushed to look out the vessel's doors. But Knuckles was already heading in the direction of Mecha Sonic. “Knuckles!!” He jumped out after him. 

“M-Mighty??" Tails shouted from the control panel. But before he could do anything, something else caught his eye. Pixels were eating into the nose of the escape pod. Tails gasped. He grabbed the Code Stabilizer from his backpack. As it powered on, the metallic surface smoothed over and returned to normal.

Mighty landed in the snow. As he pulled his eyes up, he saw Mecha Sonic, rocketing towards Knuckles with snow clouds blasting behind it.

“Hey!” Mighty hollered. He broke into a run. “HEY!!” Reaching down, he grabbed a boulder-sized piece of Death Egg debri. He flung it in the direction of Mecha Sonic to distract it. "Stop it!!"

"Mighty!"

Mighty looked over his shoulder to see Tails. He was no longer in the escape pod, but flying to catch up with him. The Code Stabilizer was in his hand.

“It only cares about Knuckles!” Tails exclaimed. He landed down and ran next to Mighty. “That’s his target. It won’t pay attention to you.” 

Mighty pointed, “Tails! Go back! Hurry! Take the escape pod and leave.” 

But Tails had no intention on listening. He only flew back into the air. “Grab onto me!”

 

Inside the bubble shield, Amy remained safe from rising water. She held onto Sonic to keep her footing against the current, and to keep him safely inside the bubble shield. 

Up until now, her promise to Knuckles stayed cemented at the forefront of her mind. But as the water rose higher, and higher, that was starting to change. The water level was over her head. Almost over Sonic’s head. And the force of the current only grew stronger by the moment. It would sweep her away if nothing changed. She would be okay inside her bubble shield. But Sonic would be left without air.

Amy squeezed her eyes shut. “Sonic.”

She felt the current push harder.

Finally, Amy loosened her grip, to look up at Sonic. “I’ve decided, I have to snap you out of it. I know we promised Knuckles but-... we can’t stay!”

Amy shook him. And shook him again. But there was no reaction. 

Her pushes became more desperate. 

“Sonic! Wake up!”

A flash of light. The blue of Sonic's fur illuminated to yellow beneath Amy's hands. She gasped and backed away.

A burst of power. Amy was pushed back. Around them, the water blasted away in a wide radius. 

 

Mecha Sonic curled into a ball and bashed into Knuckles’ side.

Knuckles thudded across the ground.

When his momentum stopped, he huffed facedown into the snow. He could feel parts of his body going numb from the spreading pixels.

Mecha Sonic landed beside him.

Knuckles strained, but he couldn't move. 

Then he heard it. The pinging sound of the laser gun.

A voice bellowed out. It was Mighty. He dove in front of Knuckles.

The laser beam hit Mighty's shell. It deflected and struck square into Mecha Sonic’s shoulder. The laser gun dropped to the snow. 

Tails flew in with Code Stabilizer raised. Knuckles watched the blue stabilizing field pass over him. And as it did, the pixels crawling over his body disappeared without a trace.

Mecha Sonic turned its head and backed away from the field.

Tails nodded to himself.

Only a slight singe mark showed on Mighty's shell. He whirled around to face Mecha Sonic, and hollered, “STAY BACK!”

 

Amy lay upon the ground where she had been thrown. Her eyes she kept covered by her hands. When she realized that the bright light had died down, she cautiously lifted her hands from her face.

The water was gone. No. She could still hear it rushing inside the room. Lifting her head, she was struck by awe at the sight. Water was surging and foaming above her. Some sort of force was pushing the water and creating a wide, spherical pocket of air. And she was inside it.

Amy turned her head to find this force. In the middle of the sphere floated Sonic. His hands were still pressed upon the purple Super Emerald. But his body gleamed a brilliant yellow. His spines were upturned. And incredible energy radiated outwards around him.

Amy could only stare.

But she remembered their predicament. She got up and hurriedly returned to Sonic's side. 

She grabbed his arm to shake him again. The touch shocked her hand. The bubble shield popped right before her eyes. Without protection, Amy’s heart began to race. She took out her hammer, hooked it under Sonic’s arms, and pulled his hands off the Super Emerald.

Sonic’s eyes snapped open. 

“Sonic!”

He looked disorientated. Like he didn't know where he was. His eyes blinked multiple times, until he recognized that someone was talking to him. “A-Amy?”

She raised her arms and shouted, “Look what’s happening!!”

Amy. The purple Super Emerald. Foggily, Sonic realized that he must be back in Hidden Palace. But it looked different. Smaller. He turned his head to try to find the other Super Emeralds. Dimly they glowed, behind a churning wall of water. That's when he realized, water was cascading around them in a spherical current. He almost couldn't move at first.

Finally he said, “...We have to go.” He tried to take a step. But he realized he was floating. And glowing. He was in his super form.

"Sonic...? What's happened to you?"

Sonic felt something diminishing inside him. His super form began to blip in and out. He looked at Amy. “H-how long was I-” An uneven breath interrupted his voice.

Amy stared at him. “...Sonic?” 

His fur darkened. The super form dissipated. Sonic fell limp to the ground.

Amy screamed as the water rushed in on top of them. 

 

Mighty and Tails stood side by side in front of Knuckles. The echidna looked painfully at their backs. The two defiantly blocked Mecha Sonic's path. Already Tails was pressing at the Code Stabilizer's keypad to increase the size of the stabilizing field. 

But Mecha Sonic's metallic plates heated to a hot yellow. The fire expelling from its turbine grew freakishly violent. With an outstretched body, a powerful wave of energy rushed outwards. 

They all shielded their faces.

Knuckles already knew what was happening. Mecha Sonic was taking a super form. He had seen it once before. During their first battle, when Mecha Sonic had stolen energy directly from the Master Emerald. Like Sonic, it used the power of the emeralds to unlock a higher state. Just like Eggman had designed.

Knuckles strained to his feet and told the others, “...You guys, go."

Tails looked back at him. But Mighty watched Mecha Sonic’s chest open up. Inside was a red, gem-like object. It began to glow.

Tails gasped. "I saw that component in Eggman's blueprints! It's a weapon!"

An electrified energy ball began to form in front of the gem. Mighty turned his back to it and squeezed his two friends in against him. He braced himself.

A chilling roar. The ball discharged.

Mighty felt it blast against his back. Much more powerful than the laser before. He was forced to take a step forward in the snow. Smoke billowed over them in a thick blanket.

“It won’t stop until it gets to me,” Knuckles told Mighty from between the smoke. “I’ll deal with it. You two go.”

Mighty looked, wholeheartedly into his eyes. "You know I'll never do that."

Tails shouted, “He’s moving…!!”

Using the direction of Tails’ gaze, Mighty quickly sidestepped to match Mecha Sonic's movements.

Another blast knocked into his shell.

Tails coughed at the rising smoke.

The sound of Mecha Sonic’s engine moved to the right of Mighty's ears. Mighty moved again. At the same time, Tails finally finished inputting commands to the Code Stabilizer. Its field expanded to an enormous size. Tails shouted in relief.

There was a pause. No sounds of the gem charging up. Fearfully they waited for the machine to make another move. The smoke was too thick to see where it might be. 

Mighty slowly loosened his grip on the other two. 

Tails told them, “I think it can't stay in the stabilizing field. If I take the Code Stabilizer with us, we can go back to the escape pod-”

Red. They all turned their heads. A glowing eye through the smoke. Mecha Sonic was kneeling in the snow. Just feet away from them. Inside the stabilizing field.

The wheels on its feet spun.

Mecha Sonic rammed its body into Mighty. Tails watched as Mighty was flung sideways and smashed into a piece of Death Egg. 

“MIGHTY!!” he cried. But he felt himself grabbed. He was shoved into the snow by Knuckles, who jumped backwards to lure Mecha Sonic away.

Tails laid in the snow. He lifted his head to see that Mecha Sonic had passed over him, and was facing Knuckles. It was hovering in the air. Still in its super form.

He had been wrong. The Code Stabilizer had no effect on Mecha Sonic at all. 

Another energy ball started charging up. Knuckles only put his guard up in response.

Tails was panting with tears in his eyes. He couldn't let this happen. Knuckles was too weak. He meant too much. But Tails didn't know what anybody could do in the face of Mecha Sonic in a super form. It was invulnerable. He stared at Mecha Sonic’s backside. At the fire roaring from its turbine.

An idea.

Tails reached for the laser gun and pulled it from the snow. 

Using both arms to aim, Tails threw the gun into Mecha Sonic’s turbine. The gun exploded. The turbine cut out. As Mecha Sonic fell to the ground, the energy ball shot off course, raging past Knuckles, and melting a path through the snow into the distance. 

Tails sprinted to Knuckles and then grabbed him. “Run!” 

But Knuckles stood solid.

“Knuckles, let's run!” 

“We can’t outrun it. I have to face it.” Knuckles nudged Tails to leave.

Tears streamed from Tails’ eyes. “B-but you can’t hurt him when he’s like that…! He’s going to- Eggman said he’s going to stay like that for five whole minutes! Even my stabiliz-” 

“I can undo states granted by the emeralds,” Knuckles affirmed. “I have done it before.” 

But Knuckles didn’t know if he could. He didn’t feel like himself. It took all his energy just to stand on his own two feet. Taking a step forward, Knuckles closed his eyes. And called out for the ancient power in his heart.

Mecha Sonic propped itself up from the ground. It attempted to start its turbine again. The engine inside backfired, multiple times. Then it ignited back to normal.

Tails jumped into the air and took off towards the escape pod.

Mighty was crawling out from the Death Egg wreckage.

“Master Emerald,” Knuckles pleaded within himself. "I call on you."

He searched for the ancient power to reveal itself. To start drumming in time with his own heart. But Mecha Sonic didn't give him time. The robot streaked forward.

Knuckles readied his fist. He pulled back, and struck the machine from the air.

A vision flooded in.

A vision of purple.

Knuckles saw the Master Emerald. Mecha Sonic’s feet planted on top of it. Electricity surging.

Then everything was enveloped in white pixels.

 

Soft clouds.

A humid breeze.

Mountains. Tall, spier-like mountains stood overgrown in lush foliage. Knuckles gazed at the ruins long overtaken by nature. The place of his ancestors. It sheltered relics beautiful and unsolvable to him. He watched clouds drift amongst the towering mountain tops. But, there was something strange about the clouds. They moved very quickly. So much faster than even possible. And the land, too, behaved strangely. The foliage slowly shrunk. Mountain slopes began sharpening into skillfully sculpted architecture.

Knuckles realized he was witnessing time running backwards in Marble Garden Zone. The jungle became unrecognizable to him. Tamed into pristine gardens that lined balconies and pathways. The aroma of large, continuous fires filled his nose. He could hear voices. The voices of his ancestors. They were speaking, laughing. Singing ancient songs. Never had he heard them before. But they sounded so, so familiar that his heart ached with happiness.

He thought he could feel something else, too. Warm eyes looking over at him. Soft orange gravitated in the direction. Her voice opened up, like pillars of light.

“I have waited to meet you, future Guardian. I have reached out to your heart, many times.”

Knuckles could say nothing.

“I hear your thoughts and prayers channeled through the Master Emerald. Your sadness and loneliness. Do you see now? That we can connect to one another through the Master Emerald?”

“…H……..”

She laughed. “Please, tell me your name?”

“...Knuckles…”

“Knuckles,” she repeated with admiration. “You must tell me, what kind of future you live in? What is it that made you be able to hear me this time?”

But the guardian could feel himself washing away. Amidst the colors, the smells, the sounds of his ancestors, bursted forth the image of Mecha Sonic. Knuckles was on the ground. He felt himself lying in the snow, with a wide pain along his torso. 

Mecha Sonic had returned to normal. No longer super, and no longer covered in glitches. It was blasting towards the echidna.

Something caught its ankle. It was Mighty. He slammed Mecha Sonic to the ground.

Effortlessly, the robot rose back up. Its relentless eye was locked on the barely conscious Knuckles.

Again Mighty grabbed it by the leg. This time he slammed the robot back and forth against the ground. He used more and more force each time. But he began to realize that the depth of the snow was protecting it from damage. So he swung Mecha Sonic around and hurled it into the same Death Egg wreckage he had been sent to earlier.

There was a crash.

Mighty didn't wait. He grabbed a huge slab of Death Egg wreckage. As Mecha Sonic picked itself up, Mighty lifted the slab high into the air to smash it.

“DON’T!” came Knuckles’ laboring voice. “Don’t destroy it- I saw something…”

Mighty looked towards him, stunned. No time to ask an explanation. Because the next thing he knew, Mighty was swooped right off the ground by Mecha Sonic. It rose up, and then dropped, forcefully skidding him against the ground. A cold, oily substance crammed along Mighty's back and arm.

Mighty thrusted his heel to kick Mecha Sonic away. It was sent into the air.

Panting, Mighty pulled himself up from an oil river. Black sludge dripped from his right side. He tried to shake it from his arm, but it was thick and coagulated.

A resounding boom echoed in the distance. Mighty looked. The mountain tops. The ones hanging in the sky. Some had finally begun to collide with the ground. The rest were dropping, fast. The peaks directly above them were only fifteen stories away.

Mighty watched, tightening his fists as Mecha Sonic landed in front of him. 

Its red eye zeroed in on him.

From inside the escape pod, Tails strapped himself in and grabbed onto the controls. Mecha Sonic’s transmission took up the entire screen. He watched a square outline lock onto Mighty. Then words typed.

[ IDENTIFIED. TARGET UPDATE. DESTROY MIGHTY THE ARMADILLO ]

Mighty huffed with desperation. His eyes flicked in the direction of Knuckles. Then he turned and started to run the opposite way. 

Snow blasted up as Mecha Sonic sped after him. But Mighty continued running, to get as much distance as he could between him and the others. He heard Mecha Sonic’s spinball screeching towards him. And a yell from Tails. 

Mighty spun around. He caught Mecha Sonic just in time. With his sheer strength, he kept crushing it in on itself to keep it from uncurling. 

Then he heard Tails. He was shouting from the escape pod. “I’m gonna do something! Stay like that! Just hold on!”

The little fox quickly turned back to the screen. He frantically tapped around to find Mecha Sonic’s controls. 

The oil was too slick. Mighty's right arm was losing its grip. Mecha Sonic forced itself open and kicked Mighty in the face.

Instead of immediately attacking the armadillo, who had stumbled away, Mecha Sonic stopped. It turned its head in the direction of the escape pod. Towards Tails.

Mighty’s anger flared. He grabbed Mecha Sonic by the spines and shoved it into the ground. He stepped on its back, grabbed its arm, and yanked it back. He had to start dealing damage to it. So he pulled harder. Hydraulics in Mecha Sonic's shoulder fought against him. Sounds of mechanical straining whirred. But Mecha Sonic activated its turbine. Fire shot right into the armadillo.

Mighty recoiled away. Mecha Sonic took the opportunity. It grabbed Mighty, spun sharply, and threw him in the direction where the land was closing together.

Mighty tumbled and tumbled. He dug his limbs into the snow to try to stop his momentum. He knew where he was headed. As soon as he slowed, he looked up. A mountain peak was sliding down. About to close him in. He scrambled to his feet. 

Knuckles, finally standing again, tried move in Mighty’s direction. But he fell. He pushed himself back up with his arms.

In front of him, Mecha Sonic’s feet crunched into the snow. Sparks sputtered from one of its shoulders. Its metallic arm hung down, limp and crushed.

Knuckles lifted his face, and glared up at the machine.

Its eye was studying him. But, instead of attacking, Mecha turned its attention again towards the escape pod. Then it glitched away.

Knuckles waited. 

There was no further sign of Mecha Sonic.

The colliding mountains continued to roar.

Knuckles got up. As fast as he could, he rushed towards the peaks. The ceiling slanted sharply downwards as he headed towards Mighty. The space between dwindled the further he ran. Five stories, four stories, three, two. Then he saw Mighty. The armadillo made it under one of the peaks. But the rest of the mountain range was already closing in. He couldn’t go any further. He raised his arms to the ceiling, and braced his whole body against it. It slowed.

“I can’t hold it much longer…!!” Mighty hollered as Knuckles reached him.

“I’ll dig a hole for you!” Knuckles asserted.

The escape pod flew in as close as it could. Tails shouted to them, “Hurry! Mighty, Knuckles! Get in!”

Mighty was forced down onto one knee.

“We can’t!” Knuckles exclaimed. “The mountains-! And both of us are targets to the Sonic robot now! If we come, it'll destroy the escape pod with us in it."

Tails drew in a slow gasp.

Knuckles continued, "We'll use the tunnels to return to Hidden Palace. Fly out of here and make your invention! Hurry!” 

Tails’ eyes globbed up with tears. But he pressed the button to make the vessel rise higher into the air.

“Tails!” Knuckles called one more time. 

The escape pod turned to leave, but Tails still listened.

“Tell Sonic. The purple Chaos Emerald. It's trapped in two places. Inside him, and inside Mecha Sonic.”

Tails’ eyes widened. “...M… Mecha Sonic?”

Knuckles nodded swifty. Then he started digging a hole into the earth. 

Pulling a switch, Tails rocketed the other direction to escape the collapsing zone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... what did you think of this chapter?? Did you have a suspicion that Mecha Sonic was involved? Or did you miss the clues~?
> 
> I had so much fun imagining the danger in these scenes--Sonic and Amy in Hidden Palace, and Knuckles, Mighty, and Tails fighting Mecha Sonic. It was pretty hard to get it written out, but I'm really satisfied with the result!
> 
> Thanks for waiting an extra day for me to post this chapter.  
>  **I do want to give everyone a heads up, that I'm in the middle of interviewing for a job in a different state.** That's part of what caused the delay of this chapter. If I get the job, I'll have to postpone new chapters until I'm moved and settled in. The reason for this is that I do final edits to every chapter before I post them to make sure they're super polished. All 34 chapters are completed, but I want to post them at the most polished state possible. I'll definitely put a notification here if there's a postponement. Thanks for understanding!
> 
> [Chapter 24 Notes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bHh5aBX1zQOozEsqnelH5aCeuu6eKJzCOCFN3FYrau0/edit?usp=sharing)  
> (Just press back to return to this page)


	25. Chapter 25

Inky blues in the darkness.

Turning, to see a blurred glance of tilework.

Sonic felt submerged in water. Muted sounds. Cloudy vision. But the tile patterns awakened a memory--a place he had been once before. Long ago.

The ambience of Hidden Palace Zone, that he recognized for only a moment, blotted away to black.

Far away now. A slight melody made itself new. So far away. But somehow, it sounded crisp and clear.

The melody of Sky Sanctuary.

The song drifted through the thick blanket of sleep that clouded Sonic’s mind. He realized, that he should wake up. 

Slowly his eyes opened to a sight of bright blue. A sky. White with clouds that climbed ever upwards.

But behind the clouds, cutting across the serene blue sky, was a streak of burning, hot pink. It split the sky into sections. Sky blue on one side. Midnight blue on the other. It was as if the daylight sky was burning away to reveal the night behind it.

“Oh- Wait! Oh, I think he’s waking up…!”

Sonic turned his head towards the fuzzy voice. There Amy was, standing over him. 

“Sonic? Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah?” Sonic answered in a daze. He realized he was lying on the ground. A puddle of water was beneath him. He tried, but found it difficult to move. Instead he just laid still. “Why? Did something happen?”

“Remember?” Amy coaxed. “We were watching the Super Emerald for Knuckles.” 

“Oh,” Sonic responded softly, as the memories slowly pieced together. 

He felt a sudden weight plop onto his chest. Amy was now hugging him tight and full of emotion.

Perplexed, Sonic only set a hand on her back. Her body was wet. He didn’t understand. If they had been watching the Super Emerald, he wondered how that led here.

A new voice sounded from Amy’s wrist, “I-is he okay?”

“I think so,” came her answer as she sat up and looked Sonic over. “But he’s taking slow to wake up.”

The other voice, that Sonic now recognized as Tails, sounded in a hurry. “I really have to go. Ice Cap is- Please hurry and tell Sonic everything I said. I’ll get to my workshop as fast as I can.”

“Count on me, Tails.”

Sonic remembered--that was the reason they had been watching the Super Emerald. To help Tails gather data from Ice Cap Zone. Because the world was glitching. Still. He couldn’t recall what had happened just a few minutes ago. His mind was shallow and blurry. He pressed deeper, to find his most recent memory.

The Special Stage. That was it. He had been running in the Special Stage. He couldn’t clear it. It constantly reset itself. Then, he remembered the frightened face of Amy, looking up at him. His super powered form. Cascading water. Its roars echoed out from the depths of his memory.

Slowly it dawned on him. They had escaped. Sky Sanctuary, reachable by the teleporter, was safety from those flooding waters.

Sonic murmured, “...Amy... you saved me.” 

He felt her face press back into his chest. 

“Hey,” Sonic gently said. “You alright? That must’ve been a scary thing I missed back there.”

Amy nodded against him. Quietly, she sat up, with hands still holding his arms. “Sonic… The water crashed on us and pushed us. It took us down to the teleporter. But I had to swim to get to it! And pull you.” She grabbed her chest and exclaimed, “I almost ran out of breath! I was so scared of you breathing in your sleep and not waking up!” 

“Hey~ I’m alright,” he reassured with a tired thumbs up. “I owe ya one, rascal.”

Amy gave a thankful smile. 

With a groan, Sonic tried to sit up. Amy helped him to a sitting position by pulling on his arm. “Hoo! Feels like I been sleeping for months…" he remarked tiredly. "How long’ve you been waiting for me to wake up?”

“Just a few minutes.”

Sonic took heavy glances at the ruins surrounding them. The floating green towers, the yellow buildings and pathways, all stood in front of a marbled backdrop of day and night. And not just in the far distance. Dark shapes bulged over parts of the zone and its architecture, like globs of ink seeping through a piece of paper. The heavenly zone was being eaten away.

"And Sonic..." Amy murmured. "Something happened... You got all glowing, and yellow, and-" But she stopped herself. She started over, with urgency rising in her voice, "Sonic, listen. Tails said that- that Mecha Sonic came and attacked them.”

Sonic stared at her. “...What?”

Amy fretfully nodded. “Yeah! He appeared in Ice Cap and just started attacking them!”

Slowly, Sonic's eyes squinted shut. "...That's what it was..." He covered his face with his hand. "That's what my vision things were… I KNEW I recognized it...”

"It must be. And that must be what the cards were trying to say too." Amy stood up. "Because, Mecha Sonic... He said- Knuckles said the Chaos Emerald- it's stuck in you, but it's also stuck in that Mecha Sonic too."

Sonic felt his stomach turn. He had no idea what this new information meant. But it couldn't be good.

Amy watched him start to stand up. She held him steady as he wobbled to his feet.

Sonic asked, "Where did he go?" 

"Huh?"

"Mecha Sonic. Maybe if I defeat him once and for all, everything will stop."

"But Sonic!" came Amy's outburst. "The Super Emerald! It's still glitching! Tails thinks the zones are messing up faster and faster because it hasn't been stopped yet."

The weight of reality began to sink in on Sonic. He had failed to stabilize the Super Emerald. By now, it must've been glitching for over ten minutes straight. And was still going. And now, he was so far from the Emerald Altar. It would take so long to get back. If he could at all. With every second ticking away, so too was the stabilization of their world. His heart started to pound.

“Tails is going to West Side Island," Amy told him. "And Knuckles and Mighty, they're too far away to help. There’s no one left to do anything about the emerald, but us.”

The power in her voice caused Sonic pause. He turned, and locked eyes with the little hedgehog. 

Amy nodded. A gust wind swept up around the floating pathway they stood upon. “Sonic. I know the palace is flooded, and we left it to get away. But. Right now, all I want to do is try. To keep our promise. To keep our home.” She looked down, for only a moment. “I don’t know what we can do. But... as long as we try, we can do anything. ...Right?”

Sonic couldn’t help the smile spreading across his face. He said, sincerely, “...Amy. I’m with ya. ...But I gotta tell ya. I’m feelin weak. And,” he took in a strange breath, “I think I did swallow some water back there."

"I'll help you. Whatever I can do," Amy answered, without waiting for him to ask himself.

Sonic gave a slow, determined nod.

Amy watched him reach his arms to carry her. She jumped into them.

“Hold on tight,” he told her. “We’re gonna get back down to Lava Reef. And we’re gonna fix this.”

Sonic jumped off the ledge. The two held onto one other as they dove through the deteriorating sky.

 

The escape pod’s autopilot swerved left and right. Tails typed away at the computer as it evaded snowy slopes, oil flows, and dwindling Death Egg Ruins. There was no immediate danger now. The falling mountain range was left long behind. Though its booming sounds could still be heard over the twisted Ice Cap and Oil Ocean melodies.

Even now, Tails knew he could travel immediately back to his workshop on West Side Island by flying into the glowing areas of orange sky, that belonged to Oil Ocean. But he continued flying straight. With the blue stabilization field encircled around the escape pod. 

His attention was focused on the computer screen. Flashing pixels clogged most of the window. It was Mecha Sonic’s transmission. There was no sign of its current location. But Tails concentrated on the controls alongside it. If he could deactivate Mecha Sonic, or cancel its target, Knuckles and Mighty would be safe. At least from Mecha Sonic. He didn’t actually know if they made it out okay from the colliding lands.

Tails shook the thought from his mind.

"...I shouldn't be doing this," he told himself. "I should be looking through Eggman's files for things to help adjust my Code Stabilizer."

But he wanted to stop Mecha Sonic while he had the chance. He wanted to search its transmissions for clues on what caused the purple Chaos Emerald to be stuck inside it. There had to be a cause connecting Mecha Sonic, Sonic, and the Chaos Emerald. But too much time had already passed. 

Tails sighed, with eyes dejected. “Mighty and Knuckles, I’m- sorry…”

He switched the escape pod back to manual control, and slowed its speed.

“The zones are getting worse. I have to finish what everyone’s counting on me for.”

Tails scanned around until he spotted sections of Oil Ocean’s sky glowing in the air. He aimed the escape pod's nose towards it. Then he switched off the Code Stabilizer and sped forward.

Ice Cap Zone rushed over his head.

In its place, the dismal smokestacks of Oil Ocean Zone. And silence. There was no music. 

Spread throughout the zone were masses of lime green pixels.

Tails turned the Code Stabilizer back on and headed in the direction of Aquatic Ruin Zone.

 

Rumbling crept on all sides of Knuckles and Mighty. The pressure of two lands crushing upon one another sent tremors beneath the earth. 

Mighty, beat up and partially covered in oil, was filled with adrenaline. His body was anticipating a strike from Mecha Sonic at any second, even if it was impossible to reach them underground. He followed behind Knuckles, who dug through the cold dirt to create a tunnel as they walked.

Both understood that something must've went wrong for Sonic and Amy. They had to get back to Hidden Palace as fast as possible.

Suddenly, Knuckles slipped, and fell to the dirt. A loud huff came from his nose.

Mighty bent down and picked him back up.

Knuckles resumed digging. One swipe of an arm after another. But gradually, each swipe grew less efficient. Less and less dirt gave way. Panting, muscles burning, heat and frustration began to seethe from Knuckles' body.

Mighty spoke, “...Knuckles? Are you alright?”

“Fine.”

“Well I mean like, on the inside…”

Knuckles felt strange tears well up in his eyelids. His jaw clenched. He lowered his arms, but kept his fists tight. But in a few moments, out came a shaky breath. “I’m sorry. ...I should not have said that.”

Mighty responded hushedly, “Oh… What do you mean?”

“...In Ice Cap…” Knuckles murmured. “When I told you, not to destroy the Sonic robot.”

“Ah… I... all but forgot that,” Mighty stuttered, trying to hide his sheepishness. “It’s alri-”

“You could have lost your life,” Knuckles snapped.

Mighty froze at his bluntness. 

“Don’t say it’s alright. ...Not to me.”

Mighty nodded. “Alright.”

Knuckles only stood with his back to him in the darkness.

Mighty couldn’t think of what to do or what to say. He watched as the echidna sniffed and smeared his tears across his cheek with his arm.

Knuckles felt a gentle hand rest on his shoulder. He couldn’t help his shaking breath. “I didn’t mean to say it.” He lowered his arm from his face and sniffed. “It’s because… I was taken somewhere…”

Mighty only looked at him questioningly.

“My ancestors…” but Knuckles stopped himself. His eyes squeezed tight, as if to push back the thought. He remained that way. Until his expression relaxed, as if painfully letting something go.

“...I’m tired, Mighty,” Knuckles finally said, in a strained voice. “I don’t have any strength.” 

Mighty stepped in, and hugged him close against him.

Knuckles slowly returned the hug.

Mighty's arms stayed pressed around Knuckles. “...I wish I could ask you to rest, my dear friend. But if we stop, the zones... “

Knuckles nodded.

“How long until we connect to one of your pre-made tunnels?” Mighty pulled away to look at him. “After that, I’ll carry you the rest of the way.”

Knuckles only nodded again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanna thank everyone again for coming by and reading my story. It's made me really happy.
> 
> [Chapter 25 Notes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qsGI7lZGFBrCl6fddwIpMU5_KzpS8CPY4EjVibfPItg/edit?usp=sharing)  
> (Just press back to return to this page)


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> UPDATE ON MY JOB:
> 
> I got the job I applied for!! I’m SO happy!! Because I need to focus on organizing the out-of-state move for my new job, further Sonic Glitch Rift chapters will be postponed until **January 2020**. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who’s been reading so far! And sorry to make you wait. I want each chapter’s final edits to be as polished as can be, and I can’t do that while trying to organize/enjoy this transition in my life! 
> 
> In the meantime, please feel free to leave the story kudos and comments. I will be around to see/respond to those! C=
> 
> Thank you for understanding. See you in the new year!

Sonic and Amy dove headlong through the sky.

White clouds billowed against the blue. Inky pools of night glistened with starlight. The nebulous shapes of day and night rushed past them, continuously, in an exhilarating, magical spectacle. 

Amy held tight to Sonic. Eyes squinting through the wind. Sonic steered their fall left and right to avoid the growing pockets of night. If they were swallowed by one, it would likely lead to a completely different zone. And they would be even further away from the Super Emerald. But Amy could tell, that Sonic's reaction time was much slower than usual. Already there had been several close calls.

“Almost there,” Sonic told her, dodging again. “Get ready. We’ll be seein Lava Reef once we get past all these clouds.”

Amy nodded.

Sonic continued, “I’ll aim us for Labyrinth Zone. It’s floating right above Lava Reef. Its gravity's going opposite of us, so it should slow us down.”

Amy gasped with a big smile. "Yeah! That'll work, Sonic! I did it before, back when I lost Tails!"

The number of night pockets was growing. And expanding. What had been easily avoided now required Sonic to spin dash and dive sharply. The sky was running out of room. 

But finally, with one last swirl of white, they broke through the clouds. Lava Reef Zone spread beneath them. It was dark and dormant. Choked by Labyrinth’s constant deluge. As for Labyrinth Zone itself--something was wrong. Very wrong. Sonic and Amy stared down in shock. The massive, watery zone was now just a horde of jittering, neon pixels. 

Amy shouted, “It’s alpha?? Sonic!!”

Sonic’s eyes searched. Where to aim. Their trajectory had to change, fast, for any hope of missing the corrupted zone.

Sonic dashed under an approaching night pocket. Two more appeared behind it. He tried to squeeze between them, but they were widening fast. So fast that they bled into a single, inescapable curtain of midnight. 

They fell into the night zone.

They kept falling.

Amy and Sonic looked up the way they came. A solitary bright blue shape was visible above them. The opening back to Sky Sanctuary. It was climbing rapidly away.

Sonic's eyes darted to search for an escape back. That's when he spotted an enormous, yellow crescent moon in the starry sky. He immediately recognized it. He knew where they were. 

“Sonic!” Amy shouted. 

Sonic looked down.

A floor of hot pink blocks, lined by many springs, rushed towards them. Amy readied her hammer. At just the right moment, she gave a forceful swing. Her hammer bashed into the springs. The force catapulted Sonic and Amy high. Much higher than normal.

Up they rushed towards the shape of daylight.

Both held their breath. Hoping it was enough. And it was. They passed back up into Sky Sanctuary. 

But there was nowhere to go. The sky was so dark. Only fleeting pockets of daylight remained. Sonic and Amy looked helplessly at the shrinking windows of blue as their own momentum began to stall.

They fell back. 

This time they landed flat upon the springs. They were bounced around again and again.

Amy managed to slow herself. She realized she was separated from Sonic. When she spotted him just a few feet away, she looked desperately up at the tiny gap of light above them. “What do we do??”

Sonic’s mind raced. But he knew it was no use. The gap closed.

Amy watched the spot a few moments more. The sky there remained dark.

A heaviness formed in the pit of Amy's stomach. The way back to Angel Island, the way back to the Super Emerald, was gone. Slowly, she looked around at the new surroundings. 

The zone was simple and quaint. Cute music danced to and fro over the pink blocks that formed the ground. Here and there, columns stood from the floor to the ceiling. They were formed by green and yellow rods twisting upon one another. Backdropped behind everything was the starry night sky. A huge crescent moon floated there, along with other large shapes--purple, wavey shapes and yellow, five-pointed stars.

"Funny place to end up..." Sonic remarked.

Amy looked at him. “Where is this?”

Sonic looked surprised. Then he nodded to himself. “That’s right. Guess most people don’t see places like this...” His hand whisked heavily towards the surroundings. “We’re home. A Special Stage on South Island.”

“A… a Special Stage?" she reacted. "Then can we get the emerald here??”

Sonic winced slowly. “...Sorry. Guess I mean Bonus Stage? No emeralds here. Just rings.”

Amy slumped. "Now how will we ever get back... We’re a whole island away…” 

Sonic sighed. His eyes wandered the pink floor for a moment or two. "...Hey, Amy."

She looked over at him.

Sonic returned her glance with a soft smile. “...Listen. This place is on a time limit. When you come here, you only got thirty seconds. Then you get sent back where you came from.”

Amy paused. Then she asked, with uneasy hope, “Will we be put back at Sky Sanctuary?”

“Not sure,” Sonic answered. In his mind, he doubted there was a Sky Sanctuary left to go back to. He held his hand to her. “But something’s gonna change any second. Hold onto me.”

A shiver went down Amy’s spine. She came over, and held on.

As if on cue, the music stopped.

The entire world blinked twice. Like something was attempting to activate.

Amy held her breath.

Sonic knew one thing--whatever normally would’ve sent them out of this stage didn’t trigger.

Thin, lime green lines began spreading between the cracks of the pink blocks. Amy watched them. As all four sides of a block became outlined in green, it would then vanish. In this way the surroundings began to disappear from them in a slow cascade.

"Sonic?" Amy whispered in fear.

The zone was going to vanish. But Sonic felt no trace of fear. Because something else was rising up within him. A serene energy. A frightening energy. A sacred energy.

Amy pulled at his arm, “Sonic! Don't stay here!"

Green lines snaked between the blocks directly below their feet. But Sonic only closed his eyes. He felt his heart swell. With a huge surge of power, he bursted into golden light. 

Pain shocked through Amy’s hand. She recoiled away. Her foot fell through a block that was now gone. Before she could scream, Sonic grabbed her from the air by the other end of her hammer.

He smiled. “Gotcha, rascal.”

Somehow, Sonic knew what to do. The Chaos Emeralds were showing him a path. A hidden dimension.

The bonus stage melted away. And they were pulled inside. 

 

Carrying Knuckles on his back, Mighty ran through the water. It was knee-deep and covering the entirety of Lava Reef. No longer did it have the characteristic green hue of Labyrinth Zone. Instead, the water was white and completely opaque. Glowing purple numbers and squares glittered across its surface, in a way that would've seemed beautiful, if not for the situation.

With every step, a faint buzzing gnawed at Mighty’s legs. His attention was on the sky. Anticipating, at any moment, for Mecha Sonic to swoop in and attack. But all that loomed above were other dangers--the neon, glitching remnants of Labyrinth Zone, and the sky marbled in a clash of day and night.

Finally, after direction from Knuckles, they reached an enormous hole in the ground. The hole created by the Death Egg.

Mighty came to a stop. The water pushed at his legs. It rushed over the hole's jagged, crystalline ledges. The circular waterfall plunged deep into the caverns and into a churning pool below. Everything in the darkness glowed in ominous purple. Lit by the glitching numbers. And most striking of all, despite the waterfall's sheer size and power, it remained absolutely silent.

Mighty’s knees weakened at the sight. “S-Sonic and Amy-”

“They’re alright,” Knuckles said as slipped off Mighty’s back. 

Mighty looked over as Knuckles came to his side. 

“I still sense the Chaos Emerald inside him,” Knuckles said as placed his foot on the submerged ledge. He was lit below by the soft purple light. “But the zones are splitting at the seams. There are many on my island that I can't sense anymore...”

Mighty stared at him, helplessly. Then he lowered his eyes back down to the dazzling waterfall before them. “What are we to do…”

Knuckles moved forward to jump.

Mighty stopped him frantically. “W-what are you doing??”

“The Super Emerald.”

Mighty’s eyes flicked back and forth between Knuckles and the flooded cavern. “Wha-! Knuckles, no! There’s no way. Just look. It’s so deep. It’s-it’s all underwater.”

Knuckles looked undeterred. “I’ll use a bubble shield. There’s one on the floor below.”

Mighty responded with a slow nod. He did in fact remember seeing a collection of item boxes earlier. “Yes… Alright. Knuckles. Allow me.”

Knuckles looked at him.

“You need to save your energy. I have some to spare. I’ll bring it up for you.”

 

Mighty dove through the water. 

It felt hot.

Buzzing.

Impenetrably white. 

Just as he wondered how he'd be able to see his way through the palace, he realized, he actually could make out a semblance of the surroundings. The water itself was white. But the purple numbers and squares were semi-transparent. They allowed him distorted visibility through the depths. 

He swam down.

All was silent. Except an unsettling, choppy, high-pitched tone.

He continued swimming.

A large, vague shape materialized below him. The top floor of Hidden Palace. His eyes followed along to find the bridge that allowed access to the floor below.

Mighty swam past the bridge, and paddled further down in strong, broad strokes.

His lungs were beginning to bother him. But he knew the item boxes would soon be visible.

The next floor materialized. And along with it, the collection of item boxes.

Mighty pulled himself next to them. As he did, he realized one already looked broken. He struggled to decipher the symbols on those intact. The distorted water made it difficult. One by one, he checked--a speed-up, an invincibility, a lightning shield, a fire shield, and a ring box. But no bubble shield.

His lungs started to squeeze.

Mighty positioned his feet against the ground and kicked off with a burst of strength. He pierced upwards, towards a surface he couldn’t see.

When he broke through the surface, Mighty took in a huge breath. His head was instantly free of the hot, buzzing sensation that still affected his torso and limbs. The high-pitched tone was gone too, and replaced with silence, despite the gushing waterfall around him.

Knuckles was waiting on one of the giant crystals jutting from the water. He looked expectantly at Mighty.

“It’s not there,” Mighty panted. He started swimming over. “Sonic and Amy must have used it.”

Knuckles gave no reply. Dread rose on his face.

Mighty kept concerned eyes on him as he pulled himself onto the crystal. 

Knuckles’ chest rose and fell rapidly. He turned. “I have to find a Giant Ring.” 

“Wha-” Mighty struggled to stand steady on the crystal’s slippery surface. “Why?” 

Knuckles jumped. He began climbing from crystal to crystal towards the cavern's opening. “It will warp me directly to the altar!”

Mighty's brow furrowed. He opened his mouth, and tried to jump to follow after him, but he slipped. He grabbed onto the crystal to keep himself from falling back into the water.

Knuckles stopped. He glided back down and landed onto the same crystal as Mighty. He grabbed his arms, and pulled him back up. Then Knuckles told him, “Throw me to the top.” 

Mighty raised his hands in alarm. “Now wait jus-"

"It'll be faster."

"Wait wait wait. Knuckles. Slow down," Mighty pleaded. "Think about this. A Giant Ring? You'll be teleported to the altar, and it's flooded? Are you accounting for- your body stays behind when you fix the Super Emerald. I saw it. It’s not enough time to get through the Special Stage. You’ll drown down there.” 

“I’ll fix it in time, and then use the teleporter to leave before I run out of air.” 

Mighty gave a mortified smile. “...Don’t be absurd...? Even, even if that’s somehow possible, isn’t something wrong with Sky Sanctuary? That’s where the teleporter leads.”

Silence came from Knuckles. 

Mighty said in a hushed voice, “I know we need to get to the Super Emerald. But there has to be another wa-”

Knuckles turned sharply. Again, he began to make his way up towards the opening.

Mighty followed right behind. “Knuckles! Wait! You can’t keep- The emerald will just error again. Again, and again. Knuckles! You know it will. Even if you manage it once, there’s no way you can keep-” 

“I know my limits,” Knuckles asserted with rising anger. “There is little use in pointing it out.”

Mighty stared. “What...?”

Knuckles jumped again. He felt his leg yanked. He thudded down onto the crystal.

Mighty kept hold of him. “W-what do you mean no use? If you die...??”

“DON’T stand in my way,” Knuckles commanded. He kicked out of Mighty's grip. Despite his injuries, he stood up threateningly, with fur raised high. “Who on this earth can change my duty?! YOU?” 

Mighty felt his own heartbeat start to pound in his ears. 

“This is not about you. Don’t call me where I am not needed! And don’t think I won’t fight right through you.”

“There’s another way!!” Mighty burst in a raspy voice. “There has to be… Oh don’t push me away now. I’ll- I could- I could rip the Super Emerald off its thing-”

“What.” Knuckles snapped. “What did you just say?”

Mighty swallowed. The glow of the waterfall's blinking numbers danced over his fur. “Take the Super Emerald off its pedestal…? Take it out of the water, move it somewhere else, above water?”

Knuckles stood there. He was beside himself. Thousands of years the Master Emerald and Super Emeralds had rested in their place. But with the armadillo’s words, he remembered the very thing Eggman had done himself. They could be moved.

Knuckles looked up. “You’ll help me with this?”

Mighty eagerly nodded.

Knuckles grasped his hand. “Come with me.”

 

Seven powers rolled and raged throughout Sonic's body. They dragged him past surroundings bright and formless. Sparkling shards of light flashed by. Winds roared in rippling cascades, though he couldn't feel them at all. They were inside the hidden dimension of the Chaos Emeralds. Sonic didn't know where he and Amy were being taken, but he held tight to gems within, and trusted their direction.

One of the Chaos Emeralds was already flickering. Threatening to disappear. Sonic struggled to keep hold of it. He couldn't lose it. Not yet. They had to reach somewhere safe first.

Suddenly, the sight of a Chaos Emerald. Spinning beside them. Purple in color.

Amy hollered, "The Chaos Emerald!"

If not for her outburst, Sonic would've assumed the emerald to be a vision, or some other strange happening. But it was real. His heart began to race. “It’s-! I wonder if I can reconnect it to the Super Emerald!!”

“Hurry!” Amy’s voice urged.

Sonic reached through the whirling dimension and grabbed the purple Chaos Emerald. Red instantly flooded in. The red of Mecha Sonic’s digitized vision. 

Then it all cut away. 

Sonic's arm remained outstretched. But all around, was still. No more whirling. No more wind. No more white. He stood in a hodgepodge of corrupted colors. The space between his fingers, that held the Chaos Emerald a moment ago, was empty. He was no longer super. 

Sonic slowly lowered his arm in the calm air. “...It’s him…”

Amy stood frozen. The exhilaration of what they had just experienced left her speechless.

“That’s why it’s not working…” Sonic murmured. “Everytime I try to channel the emerald to the Super Emerald, it gets put into Mecha Sonic instead...”

Amy stood with mouth open a few moments. "...It's the duality..."

The memory of Amy's tarot cards rose to Sonic's mind. It was him, and Mecha Sonic. Intertwined. The purple Chaos Emerald tangled them hopelessly together. And it was this displacement of the Chaos Emerald that must've started the errors with the Super Emerald, and in turn, of the world. Sonic was sure of it. But how to fix it, was beyond him.

Movement from Amy disturbed Sonic from his thoughts. She was taking careful steps into their strange surroundings. Brilliantly colored pixels surrounded them--deep violets, rosy purples, warm pinks and oranges. They formed a network of amorphous, branching shapes that resembled an enormous coral reef. The bizarre formations overlapped closely, growing in all sorts of directions, and leaving very little visibility except the small spaces between them. 

"Careful, Amy," Sonic warned. "This place... doesn't look good."

Amy turned around with an enchanted smile. "No, we'll be okay! We have to be! The emeralds are on our side. They’re giving us this as our destiny!”

Sonic gave her a strange look.

Her hands clasped together. "Sonic! It's you! I… I didn’t know you could do that! Just now, when you turned all glowy and yellow. It was you... using the power of the emeralds! Huh! That-that happened in Hidden Palace too! It kept the water away from you!”

Sonic’s brow slowly furrowed. “...That’s right. I transformed then too… Somehow.” 

Amy blinked. “You don’t know how?”

“Nah. It kinda just... happens.” Sonic folded his arms and took a moment to think. “Actually… Yeah... You're right. It’s the Chaos Emeralds. When I have all seven.” 

Amy gasped with sparkling eyes.

“They change me. The times before this, they came when I was really in a pinch…”

“They must help you!” Amy beamed with hands on her cheeks.

Sonic tilted his head, with an apprehensive smile. “Guess so… Not sure how much they helped this time.” He looked around at the glitchy surroundings. “But... that might be my fault, tryina nab that purple emerald in the middle of it. Now it’s gone. Gone back to Mecha Sonic, I guess.”

"That Mecha Sonic!" Amy raised a scolding finger. "I bet the emeralds aren't wanting to help HIM!"

Sonic smirked.

“And I bet what they want us to do is walk right up to Mecha Sonic and make him give the purple emerald back. He’s bad though! And he won’t want to! So we’ll have to show him how to not be bad!”

Sonic laughed. Something about the situation almost brought him to tears. Amy's confidence, the Chaos Emeralds' seeming alliance to him, contrasted against the wasteland of an alpha zone that surrounded them. Already the soles of his feet were beginning to feel strange from being in contact with the pixelated ground.

Sonic turned away, and propped his hands onto his hips. “About ‘we.’ We ain’t exactly in the best spot here. ...We'll hafta get outta here first.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Chapter 26 Notes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KjoVekd_dsT8wBuF5P3RekWLbDt21ebrmtVLcT987K8/edit?usp=sharing)  
> (Just press back to return to this page)
> 
> Again, in case you missed it up top: I got the job I applied for!! I’m SO happy!! Because I need to focus on organizing the out-of-state move for my new job, further Sonic Glitch Rift chapters will be postponed until **January 2020**. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who’s been reading so far! And sorry to make you wait. I want each chapter’s final edits to be as polished as can be, and I can’t do that while trying to organize/enjoy this transition in my life! 
> 
> In the meantime, please feel free to leave the story kudos and comments. I will be around to see/respond to those! C=
> 
> Thank you for understanding. See you in the new year!


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, good to be back! The move went well, and I'm loving my new home. Thanks for waiting, everyone!
> 
> Please enjoy the newest chapter! AND, look forward to getting back to your regular Friday schedule from here on out!

Sonic and Amy wandered through a strange, new zone. A place the Chaos Emeralds themselves had led them. While Amy put her trust in their guidance, Sonic wasn't so convinced. The bizarre formations around them, amorphous and branching, could only be compared to a vibrant coral reef. One that was filled with deep violets, rosy purples, warm pinks, and oranges.

Between narrow spaces, they pushed and squeezed. It was difficult to avoid rubbing against the corrupted walls. 

Amy gazed with wonder all the while. Whatever zone this once had been was pixelated beyond recognition. But the vibrant colors, the hints of water trickling here and there down the walls, even the pixels twinkling in their instability, gave it a magical feeling.

After several minutes of walking, Amy realized that she recognized something. A pink chevron pattern. It ran here and there along the walls, amongst the hodgepodge of patterns, pixels, and shapes. She smiled and pointed enthusiastically for Sonic to see. "Look!" Then her tone shifted to uncertainty. "Collision Chaos Zone..."

Sonic recognized the pattern too. Other elements began to jump out at him. Familiar objects and shapes--brass tubing and shimmering blues from Stardust Speedway, glass domes and rainbow cubes from Wacky Workbench, even chunks of quartz from Quartz Quadrant. All came from that adventure when he and Amy first met.

It was Little Planet.

They knew where they were now. But it made little difference. Their aimless walking was getting them nowhere.

Sonic decided to climb to get an overlook of the merging zones. He told Amy to stay behind and lessen her exposure to the corrupted walls. But she of course couldn't be dissuaded. So they both climbed, hand over hand. The danger Amy was in nagged at Sonic's mind again, as the strange sensation in his hands and feet grew stronger where they came in contact with the walls.

Several minutes of climbing, and the formations still gave no sign of clearing. 

Sonic leaned back against a glitchy, pink shape and let out a sigh.

Amy looked down from a higher perch. “This sure goes up high.”

“No end,” Sonic agreed. He took a glance around. “Things keep lookin the same... I wonder if this place just loops around and around.”

Amy craned her neck to peer up through the colorful, branching shapes above.

Sonic's eyes rested on his own hand. It was pressed to a colorful wall. Several pixels, matching the colors of his glove and arm, hovered in the air. It looked as if his body was becoming misaligned with itself. Glancing down at the rest of his body, he saw more pixels dotting his torso and limbs.

This phenomenon was something both he and Amy noticed some time earlier. But it was gradually worsening as they traveled.

A soft thump. Sonic lifted his head. Amy had hopped down to his level. The glitched pixels across her body made her look strangely colorful. “Sonic… Don’t worry. I know the emeralds put us in a good place.”

Sonic returned a smile. But he said nothing.

A beep came from Amy's wrist.

“Amy, Sonic!" came Tails' hurried voice. "I’m already at my workshop. I’m researching as fast as I can.”

The others were surprised at the unexpected interruption.

“Amy? Do you hear me?”

She pressed the button. “Yes! We’re both here.”

“Glad ya made it safe!” Sonic said in a brightened voice. 

Anxiously Tails asked, “Are you guys alright? Are the zones still alright?”

Amy opened her mouth, but Sonic cut in, “Holdin up fine, Little Guy.”

“Oh good… I was getting scared.” The sound of typing could be heard. “The way Ice Cap was falling down... And now here in Aquatic Ruin. It’s still so messed up anywhere outside my Code Stabilizer. It makes me…” he trailed off. “I mean, I’m...”

Sonic leaned in. “Hm?”

Tails let out a few hesitant sounds before he was actually able to speak. “Sonic..." His voice trembled. "What if… What if I can’t do this fast enough? Wh-what if everything in the world gets corrupted? And I’m the only thing left…? Just me and my stabilizer? ...What if I can’t save you guys...”

“Tails! Don’t think that!” Amy protested. “We'd never let you be all alone.”

Sonic smiled gently, “Yeah, buddy… Amy’s right. I know you’re feelin a ton of pressure. But me, Amy, Knuckles, Mighty--we’re in this too. We’re gonna keep everything stable for ya, as long as it takes.”

The little fox answered in half-hearted acknowledgement.

“Besides,” Amy beamed, rocking back and forth on her heels, “we know how to stop the zones from being messed up once and for all!”

Tails stammered, “R-really?”

Sonic smirked. “We got a pretty good idea.”

“Yeah!” Amy affirmed. “We’re going to make Mecha Sonic give back the purple emerald!”

There was a pause on Tails’ end. “...But... how?”

Sonic cut in playfully, “Don't go worrying about that! We're distracting ya." He let out a laugh. "Listen, buddy. You’re gonna figure out Eggman’s data. And you're gonna make your stabilizer, your own way.”

Amy joined in, “Yeah! You can do it, cuz you’re strong and smart. I believe in you!”

From Tails came a soft sigh of relief. “...Okay. I’m going to try to do it. Thanks, Sonic, Amy. Thanks so much for being, my friends. ...I’m going to go now so I can concentrate.”

“See ya~”

“Bye, Tails!”

The communicator went quiet.

Slowly, their smiles dwindled away as they were left alone again. 

Amy looked over at Sonic. “...Why didn’t you say the truth about the zones? They’re not fine…”

“He knows they aren’t,” Sonic answered gently. “I know ya don’t like lying, but trust me. He was askin something different.”

Amy only returned a skeptical look.

Sonic thrusted his hands to his hips. “Welp! Only one way to find out if this place's looping. You stay put here, and I'll get to climbing. I should run into you again in just a few minutes."

"I wonder what we'll do if it is," Amy said.

"Not sure," Sonic answered. "I'll be back."

Amy watched as he gradually disappeared between the strange formations. Then, she was alone.

The pixels hovering around her body were becoming more distracting. They moved when she did, and slightly obscured her view. She lifted her hand and looked at her corrupted palm. Then slowly, she closed it into a soft fist.

"...I'm not scared. Because I know, it's really you who's feeling bad. Who's sick," Amy said aloud to the purple Chaos Emerald she couldn't see. "We're going to save you... and make you feel better again."

"Hello?"

Amy blinked in surprise. She looked around, unsure if she had heard right. 

"Hellooo?"

Amy answered, "H-hello? Is someone there?"

It became hushed as if the voice wasn't expecting a reply.

A different voice piped up, "...Hello? Where are you? We hear you!"

"I'm over here," Amy answered. She took a few steps towards the voices. "This way!"

A pair of little animals emerged. A blue flicky and a black bird. They flapped into the area she was in.

"Amy??" they exclaimed in shock.

"Hi!" She waved.

"How did you get here?" the black bird asked.

She smiled. "Um, it's a big long story."

The flicky asked, "Can we land on you?"

"Oh! Okay." Amy held out a finger for each of them.

The two little birds perched on her fingers.

"Thanks," one said tiredly.

The other explained, "It's dangerous to touch the ground. Are you okay...?"

"Mm-hm!" Amy smiled. "What about you?"

"We've been staying still as much as we can... There's more of us further away from here. But we heard voices passing by us over and over. We can fly, so we came to see if anyone was lost. But, are you alone? I thought there was more voices."

Amy nodded. "Sonic's here too! He should be back in a little bit."

The faces of the two little birds fell slowly and dramatically.

Amy waited.

The black bird stared up at her. "Sonic...? I can't believe he got stuck here too..."

"Don't worry!" Amy beamed. "The Chaos Emeralds brought us here! For a special reason! Maybe it's to take you with us out of here."

They looked immediately encouraged by this.

She continued, "AND, we have a friend that's fixing all this glitch stuff! So Little Planet won't be like this forever."

"Oh, thank goodness! This is so scary!"

"We have to get the others!"

Since Sonic would return soon, the blue flicky agreed to stay and wait for him. Amy and the black bird went to retrieve the other little animals.

There were just two others--a yellow bird and a white sheep. The sheep showed heavy signs of glitching. He couldn't fly like the others. His legs were almost completely distorted in pixels. Even part of his face was obscured. Amy realized that the little animals, in their smaller size, were in much greater danger than herself and Sonic. 

Amy carried all three back. Sonic was there waiting with the blue flicky.

"Good work," Sonic told Amy with a thumbs up. "Is there anyone else around here we needa help?” 

The black bird answered, “I don’t think so. We haven't seen anyone else.”

The sheep cut in, “What about those two flickies?” 

“Huh? ...Oh! There WERE some others here!” 

Sonic nodded, “Where’d they go?” 

"They're siblings," the yellow bird told them. "We don't think they're from Little Planet..."

Another elaborated, “They just went on their own. They flew by us, and we told them to stay with us and not move. But they didn’t listen...”

Sonic paused in realization. "...And ya said they weren't from here? How'd they look?" 

“One had spiky red feathers at the top of his head. And the other was pink with pigtails.”

Sonic's finger raised to his mouth thoughtfully. Under his breath, he wondered, “...What if they're from..."

Amy looked at him. “Sonic?”

He posed coolly. “Well! Can’t go leaving em behind! Which way’d they go?” 

The yellow bird pointed. “They kind of went that way, I think.”

Sonic nodded. “I’ll go find em. Amy, you stay here so ya get less pixels. I’ll be back.”

 

Deeper into the cavern. It was dark. Except for the white, glowing water below. Knuckles hopped from crystal to crystal inside Hidden Palace Zone. He headed for the rays of purple light that were coiling from the water's surface. Submerged beneath them was the Emerald Altar. And the purple Super Emerald, raging with power.

Knuckles was desperate to reach it. With no more crystals available in his path, he leapt up and broke into a glide. But in sudden realization, he turned his head. Behind him, Mighty lurched to a stop on the last crystal.

Knuckles glided back over and caught onto the side of it. 

Mighty asked urgently, “Should we swim?”

Knuckles nodded.

They jumped in. The water was hotter than Mighty remembered.

“I won’t be able to touch the Super Emerald,” Knuckles told him as they swam. “Not until you bring it above water.”

Mighty knew why. Touching the Super Emerald would immediately take Knuckles to the Special Stage. A thing they had to avoid while it was underwater.

Knuckles continued, “But I’ll come down with you in case anything happens.”

“No,” Mighty countered. “Stay up here. Find a crystal, or anything, that I can put the Super Emerald on the moment I return.”

Quickly, Knuckles' eyes scanned the flooded cavern. “Right.”

A few strokes more, and they were just feet away from the purple light. Neither said anything more. Mighty simply took in a huge breath and went under. 

It was loud. Grinding, metallic frequencies bombarded his ears. It felt like his head was being scraped and squeezed. His limbs wobbly. His senses a blur.

He swam down. The water was opaque and white. Like before, he used the translucent numbers to see through it. Not far beneath him was the blinding shape of the Super Emerald and the spectrum of electric purples spewing from its center. He could feel its power throbbing. Terrifyingly magnetic. Out of control. His body begged him to flee.

Mighty gripped onto the altar of the purple Super Emerald and pulled himself in. 

Water seethed against him. He reached through and took hold of the widest point of the gem. Voltaic energy jolted up his arms. He hunkered down and gave a huge twist. 

The give was immediate. The Super Emerald was dislodged from its resting place.

Knuckles waited above. On his hands and knees, he searched the water's surface from atop a giant crystal.

The purple rays of light were intensifying. Energy blasted outward as the cuts of the Super Emerald broke the surface.

“OVER HERE! MIGHTY!”

The armadillo strained to swim over. When he came close enough, he closed his eyes and wedged the Super Emerald against the crystal. 

The Guardian immediately pressed his hands to it.

While Knuckles did his part, Mighty continued kicking his legs furiously to keep himself and the Super Emerald in place. Its power was somehow less terrible above water than below. But now a whipping, ruthless wind howled through the cavern. He braced against it, and kicked and kicked and kicked.

He struggled for one minute. Two minutes. The force of the Super Emerald was reaching a point he couldn’t take. He pushed desperately for himself to continue. That’s when he felt the throbbing power die beneath his palms. The electric pangs subsided.

The weight of the gem disappeared from his hands.

Hesitantly, Mighty opened an eye.

Knuckles pulled the Super Emerald securely beside him. It looked serene. It glowed in gentle purple.

Mighty fell back into the water with relief.

Knuckles, similarly, bent over in exhausted happiness.

Neither said a word. The silence was smothered over by Mighty’s own pounding heart. He laughed and covered his face with both hands. 

Knuckles looked down at him.

Mighty straightened himself in the water. His eyes were shining with relief. “...Knuckles, I-... I was so afraid the world would collapse around us before we had a chance to fix this.”

“Me too,” Knuckles answered with a simile. He closed his eyes, a moment, then opened them again. “I’m glad you were with me. Now... we’ll keep the Super Emerald as stable as possible. We’ll give Tails as much time as we can.”

 

After a few minutes of searching and shouting through the strange zone, Sonic’s ear pricked. He thought he heard someone say his name.

“...Hello?” he called.

He waited. This time, he heard a tweet.

Sonic turned on his heel and headed for it. As he squeezed through another small space, a feathery object smacked into him.

"Ack!"

"Oops! Sorry."

A flicky fluttered back to allow Sonic to finish squeezing through. She had bright pink feathers, purple markings, and pigtailed hair.

"It really is you..." she said in disbelief. She turned her head and called to seemingly nobody, "You can come out now."

A small, red flicky flapped over. He had spikey hair and black markings. 

"Ah! Thought so,” Sonic said. “You’re from Flicky Island, aren’t ya?”

"Yes," the pink flicky answered.

The red flicky looked tired, and scared. He was much younger than his sister. He started to float down to land on the ground.

"Ah, here." Sonic lifted his palms for both of them.

"Thanks," the pink flicky said as they landed on his hands.

Sonic pulled them closer. "Even you guys… I thought you’d be safe in your special dimension thing.”

She looked down at her younger brother, then apprehensively back up at Sonic. “We were… Well, we are. Everyone else, they're still safe. It’s just us that got taken away.”

“...Taken away?” Sonic asked with concern.

Her eyes lowered. “It’s my fault we did.”

The smaller flicky’s face also fell.

“That’s prolly not true,” Sonic brushed off. “The zones’ve been goin TOTALLY haywire. Me n my friends’ve been pulled around, teleported this place n that! Just like you.”

But the pink flicky’s gaze up at him was solid and deliberate. “Those disturbances. All of us on Flicky Island felt them too. So everyone decided not to warp back into the zones. We were supposed to stay in our dimension until it stopped. But… we waited day after day after day... It only got worse on the outside.”

Sonic nodded. “Yep. Here too.”

“My brother got so hungry,” she explained, with a slight gesture of her wing. “I thought I could take him to a zone for just a little bit. I thought my powers would be strong enough.” She sighed. “...I don’t know why. I’m not even that old.”

The red flicky only looked sadder.

Her eyes wandered. “When I tried to warp us... We got attacked by... a horrible purple energy.” 

“Was it a Chaos Emerald?” Sonic asked.

She looked a little surprised. Then nodded. “Yes, but…”

Her little brother piped up, “Sonic, you know about, that the Chaos Emeralds stay in our dimension?”

Sonic squinted. “Welllll… Not til just a few days ago. It's a friend of mine that told me the Chaos Emeralds like, hide themselves using hidden dimensions. That’s what he calls em. And now I kinda finally get it about you guys. You live in those dimensions they make, don’tcha?”

The older sister looked flabbergasted. “Who-? One of us on Flicky Island told you that?? They told us not to-”

“Nah,” Sonic said with a very light wave of his hand, since she was perched on it. “He’s a guy called Knuckles. He’s not a flicky, he’s a- ...What is he again?”

Her brow furrowed in confusion. “...What? It was an outsider?”

“Outsider?”

“Um well,... I guess that’s what we call anyone not from Flicky Island. Like you.”

“Oh. Yup! He is then.”

The pink flicky stood silent for a few moments. “...I can’t believe he knows that…”

“Well, he’s-” but Sonic stopped. He shook his head. “Wait. We can do all this later. First thing is gettin outta here. Some other animals told me about you. And I was hoping you were from Flicky Island, cuz I got an idea. If I find you guys a Giant Ring, you'd be able to teleport us back to your dimension, right?”

The older sister didn’t look hopeful. “I’ve been trying to find one. But our bodies started to get-... like this,” she gestured to the pixels running across herself. Her voice started to quiver, “I can’t even sense any Giant Rings here. This is so different from our home…”

“Don’t worry, I know the rules of this zone,” Sonic winked. “Or what used to be this zone.” He started walking. “If I get fifty rings, I should be able to get a Giant Ring runnin for ya. Whaddaya say?”

"Do you really think you can find enough rings?" she asked. "In a place like this?"

"Won't stop til I do," he said with a nod.

A slight smile, for the first time, showed on the pink flicky's face. But it was overtaken by urgency. "Then yes. Please."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So firstly, the pink and red flicky are from a game called Sonic 3D Blast (Sega Genesis) or Sonic 3D: Flickies’ Island (Sega Saturn). The flickies in this game don’t have official names like some of the other little animals, so I have to refer to them as “pink flicky” and “red flicky” in the story. Sorry!
> 
> If you wanna learn more about the flickies from that game and more, like their ability to warp through Giant Rings (no I did not make that up) check out the notes below!
> 
> [Chapter 27 Notes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1agUzz9Zbf3vucMKnKru8WQVptpyHerdq9_VTqQzRIh4/edit?usp=sharing)  
> (Just press back to return to this page)


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